Lines of Lightning
by TheRugMaster
Summary: Even pranksters fall in love. Fred Weasley/ Katie Bell, written for HermioneWeasleyFan's 100 stories challenge.
1. Introduction

**Ok, this is written for HermioneWeasleyFan's 100 stories challenge, and its the first challenge I've ever done. I chose Katie/Fred cos its not a hugely popular painring and I only discovered it a few months ago, but I'm now fully converted! I just want to explain the title- it's from Acidentally in love by Counting Crows ("these lines of lightning mean we're never alone, never alone") and it might change if anyone gives me a better suggestion... now, are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter etc etc etc.**

_**I cannot find a way to describe it/ It's there, inside/ All I do is hide/ I wish that it would just go away/ What would you do, you do if you knew? What would you do?/ All the pain I thought I knew/ All the thought lead back to you/ Back to what was never said/ Back and forth, inside my head/ I can't handle this confusion/ I'm unable/ Come and take me away-** "Take Me Away" Avril Lavigne._

Fred Weasley slipped into a seat next to a sleeping Katie Bell and poked her with a quill.

"Ouch! I'm working, I'm-oh, it's you." She yawned and stretched. "I thought that you were Rachel for a moment...she's trying to force me to write this stupid potions essay. She's such a Nazi when it comes to homework."

"What's a Nazi?" asked Fred curiously.

"From the Second World War...like muggle death eaters? No?"

Fred looked blank.

"Doesn't matter." Her eyes lit up. "Hey, I don't suppose you know anything about moonstone do you?" she asked hopefully.

"I know it's not spelt mooMstone" he pointed out unhelpfully.

"Oh damn." As Katie scribbled out half of the 'M' a good looking blonde boy walked over to their table.

"Excuse-moi." He said to Katie. "I was wondering...what is your name?"

There was a pause as both boys looked expectantly at her.

"Oh, were you talking to me?" she asked in surprise. "I'm Katie, Katie Bell."

"Katie Bell." He repeated, smiling. "And belle you are."

Fred almost gagged. "Oh, that is _lame_." He snorted under his breath, but either Katie didn't hear him or she was ignoring him, because she smiled back and flushed slightly.

"I am Jacques Dupont." He continued. "And I was wondering also...would you accompany me to ze ball?"

"Hell yeah!" burst out Katie. Then she cleared her throat. "I mean, yeah, that sounds great."

Jacques smiled in what seemed a very smug way to Fred and sauntered off. Katie sat still for a moment or two gazing at his back, then swivelled around and gaped at Fred.

"Wow." She said. "He's...that's...just wow."

She jumped to her feet. "I _have _to tell Rachel and Leanne about this!" she beamed. "Who cares about potions?"

And with that she shoved her things in her bag and dashed out of the library, leaving behind a very disgruntled looking Fred.

*

"You're going with a French boy?" exclaimed Hazel, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "What does he look like?"

"A Greek god." sighed Katie happily.

"Oh, god I wish I was with a sexy French boy." moaned Hazel enviously. "I'm going with Cormac sodding McLaggen who kisses like a whelk."

"Hazel!" remonstrated Rachel as Katie laughed. "He's your boyfriend!"

Hazel shrugged. "Not for much longer." She said firmly.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but Leanne frowned and turned back to Katie.

"Kate, it's great that your date is so much hotter than all of ours and everything, but what about-"she glanced around and mouthed "Fred?"

"What about him?" replied Katie defensively.

"Well, I thought you liked him! And here you are, accepting a date with some French guy you've never even seen before right in front of Fred!"

"Shh!" said Rachel frantically.

Katie leaned forward. "Ok, I do like Fred. A lot, actually. But he's never going to notice me in that way- especially if I'm available- so why shouldn't I have a bit of fun? And-"

She was cut short by Fred himself hollering across the common room at Angelina.

"He's asking ANGE?" demanded Katie, thunderstruck, turning to gape at her friends who all winced at her expression.

"Erm...looks like it." quivered Rachel.

"But he doesn't fancy her, surely!"

"Yeah, but that's not important is it?" asked Leanne, bored. "You don't fancy Jack-"

"Jacques." corrected Katie. "And that's different."

Leanne raised her eyebrows. "Oh, screw you Leanne." She snarled, stomping up the stairs behind an equally irate Hermione Granger.

*

Katie missed Quiddich. A lot. For one thing, she loved flying. For another it gave her a legitimate reason to talk to Fred without being accused of flirting by her so called best friends.

It was the day of the Yule Ball. For the past few days- well since they'd both got dates- Fred and Katie had been attempting to act normally but ended up being bizarrely polite to each other.

She sighed as she thought of the formal way in which they had been speaking to each other. It was her fault really, for agreeing to go to the ball with Jacques. She couldn't help feeling that this stupid ball was much more hassle than it was worth, and was looking forward to it being over so she could be friends with Fred, properly, again.

She yelped as a snowball hit her on the back of the head, jolting her out of her (rather depressed) thoughts. She turned to see two identical faces with matching grins. She could tell instantly which one was Fred-he was the one on the right. As usual.

"Hey!" she yelled. "What was that for, you gits?"

"Alright Katie?" grinned George. The twins bounded forward and simultaneously put their arms around her.

"So, Katie." said Fred. "Fancy joining us on a little ambush? Me, you , George, Angie, Alicia and Lee?"

"Who are you ambushing?" asked Katie warily. "It better not be Snape like last year, we were in detention for a fortnight."

"Katie, Katie, Katie." said George, shaking his head in mock sorrow. "Would we do the same thing twice?"

"It's like you don't know us at all." chimed in Fred.

"No, this year we have a very special treat planned for that lovely boy Draco Malfoy."

"And his cronies." added Fred.

George removed his arm from around Katie and jumped round to face her. He grabbed her hands earnestly, but all Katie could think of was Fred's warm arm still curled around her shoulder. Weakly, she nodded, instantly regretting it.

They met up with the others who were dressed all in black. Alicia, who Katie had always been close to, grinned and mouthed "George asked me out!"

The second Katie was next to Alicia she commanded her to tell everything.

"Well," whispered Alicia "The other day he came up to me and complimented me on something, I think he'd thrown something and I caught it, and anyway I smiled and said 'what do you want?'. And then he was like can I copy the charms essay and just as I was looking for it he came out with it! And when I said yes he looked all cute and relieved and started to walk off. And then I was like 'what about the essay?' and he told me that he'd already written it he just needed an excuse to talk to me!"

Katie smiled secretly to herself, and decided not to tell Alicia that a few weeks back she'd accidentally let Fred know that Alicia fancied George.

"Alicia, Kate, _shut up_!" hissed lee. "How are we supposed to sneak up on them with you two gossiping?"

The group hid behind the bush. Katie was glad to see that going into sixth year hadn't made her friends grow up at all. The scooped together handfuls of snow while Lee set to work charming the snow into missiles and the twins hastily put together a catapult.

"On the count of three." Fred whispered.

"One-"

"-Two-"

"-Three-"

"FIRE!" the twins bellowed together and Katie began lobbing snowballs at the gang of Slytherin fourth years.

Halfway through the battle Katie found herself stranded in the open. She could sense rather than see a snowball heading straight towards her, but she was helpless to stop it from hitting her.

"Protego!"

The shield seemed to have come from a tree, until Fred rolled over the ground and next to her. They didn't speak, but in the air there was something, tangible, uncertain, unspoken.


	2. Trouble Lurking

**How can I decide on whats right?/When your clouding up my mind/ I can't win your losing fight/All the time/...But you won't take away my fight/ No, not this time/How did we get here?/When I used to know you so well/How did we get here?/Well, I think I know._- Decode, Paramore_**

Several hours later Katie was not happy.

"This- stupid piece of hair- won't lie flat!" She almost screamed in utter frustration.

She was ready- in her pretty red dress and black shoes, her make up carefully done for once instead of frantically smeared on two minutes before having to leave for a lesson. Her hair was coiled in an elegant up do. Except, that is, for the one rebel strand.

"Leanne, please help me." She begged. "I can't be late tonight!" Leanne grinned at fiddled with Katie's fringe, and miraculously under her skilled hands the rebellious hair behaved.

"Thanks." Said Katie gratefully. "I'm still late though- I'm going to have to run to meet Jacques. See you later!"

As Katie slipped through the crowds of people in the common room Fred caught sight of her. He swallowed, wishing that he had just plucked up the courage and asked her to the stupid thing.

By his side Angelina saw his face as he watched Katie.

Katie met Jacques in the entrance hall. Blushing as he kissed her hand, she thought to herself _Fred would never do that._

_Yes but Fred isn't interested in you like that, is he? _A snide voice in her head replied. Marvellous, now she was talking to herself. She took Jacques offered hand and banished all thoughts of Fred. They sat down with two of Jacques friends and Leanne and her date, who seemed more interested in looking down Leanne's dress than talking to her.

"There's Alicia and George." said Leanne. "I didn't know they were coming together."

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" asked Katie, mildly surprised. "I thought I said."

"They look good together." commented Leanne. Katie agreed, but the smile slid off her face as she saw Fred walk in with Angelina. She bit her lip and turned to Jacques, who was animatedly talking to his friends in French."

"Jacques, regarde! C'est Harry Potter!" squealed one of Jacques friends, a stunning brunette called Marie. The she added, disappointed "Il a une petite-amie."

"He is your 'ouse, isn't 'e?" Jacques addressed Katie.

She nodded. "Yeah, we're in the Quidditch team together."

"You play ze Quidditch?" asked Jacques interestedly. "What role?"

"Chaser." She replied. "You?"

"I am a keeper." He told her.

"I'll say." giggled the French girl, winking at her date, who blushed.

Leanne raised her eyebrow at Katie.

"So, what team do you support Katie?" Leanne sighed as Katie immersed herself in a Quidditch conversation with Jacques, his friend Luc and Marie and Leanne's dates.

Marie leaned towards Leanne. "Please warn your friend for me zat Jacques is not- how do I say? - he is not...a man who you can trust?"

"What do you mean?" frowned Leanne.

"I mean," said Marie quietly. "Jacques is only interested in one thing."

She gave Leanne a significant look and turned to smile flirtatiously at her date.

*

"Fred, that's the fifth time that you've looked over at Katie." Muttered George in his twin's ear. "Pack it in, or Ange is going to guess."

All through the meal Fred tried to keep his eyes off Katie and her date. But he failed and every time he caught a glimpse of Katie talking, smiling, laughing at that French ponce he would feel a flash of anger and jealousy and would stab a piece of meat ferociously, while Angelina watched in rising alarm.

The dancing was a welcome distraction. He couldn't help but snigger with George over Harry's atrocious attempts to dance, and then he noticed Angelina's shoulders moving in time to the beat.

"Hey, Angie, do you want to dance?" called Fred over the music. She nodded and he grabbed her hand and pulled her on the dance floor, determined to have a good time. It helped that Angelina wasn't afraid to join in with his ludicrously wild dances.

*

"Zis is a good song- do you want to dance?" asked Jacques, offering Katie his hand, which she accepted. Marie and Leanne exchanged a glance.

"I'll talk to her." Promised Leanne.

Up on the dancefloor Katie and Jacques bumped into Fred and Angelina.

"Oops, sorry!" laughed Jacques. As he steered Katie away he flashed Fred a hard, suspicious look. Katie, smiling at Angelina missed it, but Fred certainly saw and he made a move as if to hit him.

Angelina forcefully grabbed his hand and placed it firmly on her waist. Fred looked at her in confusion and she smiled and shook her head slightly.

*

"Leanne, I couldn't care less what Marie says!"

Katie and Leanne were arguing in the girl's toilets.

"I think she fancies Jacques for herself to be honest, but he's my date, and I'm bloody well going to have fun!"

Leanne groaned to herself as Katie marched off and followed, hoping that Katie wouldn't do anything stupid or reckless in her anger.

*

The song was slow, romantic. Katie leaned into Jacques. She could see Victor Krum revolving with a pink cheeked Hermione Granger. Now that was a surprise. She'd assumed that Ron would take her. Looked like all of the Weasley boy's were useless.

No, that wasn't fair. George had managed to ask out Alicia hadn't he?

"It's so hot in here." Whispered Jacques in her ear. "Shall we get some air?"

She nodded dreamily. The evening had been pretty much perfect, even if she had spent a lot of the time, trying not to think about Fred.

Leanne's warning flashed through her head as Jacques took her by the hand and lead her out, but she instantly disregarded it. She didn't even know Marie so how could she trust anything she said?

Once they were outside Jacques put an arm around her. They walked slowly past several rose bushes, him lightly rubbing his hand up and down her arm to keep her warm, but she felt goosebumps emerge. However, once they were past the rose bushes he pulled her behind a tree and kissed her.

He slammed his mouth down on hers and gripped her tightly. When she struggled though he murmured an apology and loosened his hold and began to kiss down the side of her neck in small dainty kisses. Now that she didn't mind.

And then he bit her.

*

"Fred, do you want to take a walk?" asked Angelina quietly as they slow danced.

"Er..." he spotted Katie leaving with the French moron and scowled. "Ok."

They left the hall and went out into the cold air. Angelina linked arms with Fred. "Don't worry," she smiled. "I'm not expecting you to kiss me."

"Huh?" Fred looked bemused.

"Oh, come off it Fred." She scoffed. "You know, and I know, that there's only one girl that you want to kiss and it sure as hell ain't me!"

"I- don't know what you're on about." Stuttered Fred nervously.

"Katie Bell!" said Angelina loudly. "Remember her? Chaser? Pretty, blonde- the girl you've been in love with for what, like a million years? Ring any bells?"

"I- er- 'Bells', Katie Bell, yeah funny Angie, but I've heard enough puns with Katie's name." Replied Fred, stalling for time.

"Argh!" growled Angelina. "For God's SAKE! Go and FIND her! I mean, who even _cares_ about the French guy? _She_ certainly doesn't! She only bloody well went with him to make you jealous!"

"What?" gasped Fred.

"And you retaliated by asking me!" Angelina continued in her rant. "Now stop being so irritating and go and find her and tell her or I swear to god I'll take one of those stupid fake wands you and George are always leaving lying around and stick it up your-"

"But what about you?" interrupted Fred, stopping Angelina in her tracks.

"What about me?" she asked, looking nonplussed.

"Well, you know, you're my date, I can't just abandon you-" began Fred.

"Look, Fred." Cut in Angelina. "This may sound blunt but it's the only way to get you to sod off. _I don't fancy you. _I only went with you because I needed a date and you're my friend, so I knew it'd be a good night. Of course, I didn't expect to be forcing you to admit your feelings for Kate, but whatever..."

"But-"

"Just go Fred." She said softly.

Fred nodded, his throat feeling curiously tight in his nervousness. He started to walk off, then turned round and engulfed Angelina in a hug. "Thanks." He whispered in her ear. She patted him on the back, then he strode of to find Katie.

*

Katie was so surprised that he'd bitten her she didn't think, she just reacted. She pushed her hand forward, hard, smacking his nose.

"Merde!" Jacques clutched at his face. "Pourqu- why did you 'it me?"

"What the hell was that?" Katie gasped. "You bit me!"

Jacques gave his nose one last rub then dropped his hand, a seductive smile on his face. He leaned in for a kiss. This time he was much more gentle and Katie responded by pulling him closer.

But then he went too far. With a groan he pushed her against the tree trunk. She could feel the bumpy bark press uncomfortably through her dress and against her back.

She shifted, but Jacques misinterpreted it and reacted to her movement by slipping his hand into her dress.

She struggled to push him away, miserably wishing that she had just listened to Marie, but he was too strong, and too intent on groping her it seemed. She tried to kick him, but she was trapped.

And then her strap tore.

Fred turned the corner to see yet another couple snogging enthusiastically. He'd just tripped over Fleur Delacour and Roger Davis, and had been forced to duck and run from a hex hurled at him. He wrinkled his nose.

Then he recognised the nail polish on the hand that was pulling the boys hair- "its denim blue" Katie had told him proudly- and realised that it was Katie and the French ponce.

Involuntarily he took a step forward and that was when he noticed that she was trying to push him off her. He felt a red haze descend over his eyes.

"OY!"

Jacques turned from Katie and stared at Fred. Katie took her chance and kicked him as hard as she could on the shin.

"You- you- you tore my dress!" she spat, furious.

Fred took a menacing step forward and Katie realised then who had saved her. She went red in anger and embarrassment that Fred had seen her like this.

"What?" snapped Jacques. "She likes it."

"Wake up Frenchy." Sneered Fred.

"She does!" he protested.

"Piss off Dupont." Snarled Katie. "Touch me like that ever again and I will kick you so hard you won't be able to have kids."

Jacques gaped, Fred grinned.

"Katie-" he started, but Katie barged past him and ran past the school. As she did so, Fred could swear that he heard the sound of a sob.

**A/N Posted in a rush sorry if theres any mistakes have a vegas night to go to =]**


	3. Tears

**I never thought I'd die alone/ I laughed the loudest, who'd have known?/ I traced the cord back to the wall/ No wonder it was never plugged in at all/ I took my time, I hurried up/ The choice was mine I didn't think enough/ I'm too depressed to go on/ You'll be sorry when I'm gone _-"Adam's song" Blink 182_**

Angelina looked up from her letter to see Katie rush by her and up the stairs to girl's dormitories. Several minutes later Fred also ran through and up to the boy's rooms.

She exchanged a look with Lee, who was on the other side of the room, as Fred flew down the boy's stairs on his broom, and soared up the girl's staircase.

Katie stared into the mirror, gripping the sides of the sink. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _Everything she did was stupid.

She was stupid for liking Fred Weasley.

She was stupid for agreeing to go to the ball with Jacques bloody Dupont.

And she was stupid for ever imagining that going to the ball with another boy would get Fred's attention.

She could hear him calling her name. How the hell was he even up there?

"She went into the bathroom." came a muffled voice. Katie angrily damned them to hell.

She double checked that the door was locked and turned on the taps for a bath. A nice, relaxing bath. That was what she needed, to wash the feel of Jacques away.

There was a bang on the door. "Katie?"

She didn't answer.

"Katie?"

""Fred, go away." She said flatly.

"Listen, Katie, can I-?"

"How are you even up here?" she interrupted. "I thought the staircase was meant to be enchanted."

"Er...it is."

"Then how..?"

"I'm a broom." He admitted.

"_What?_"

"I'm on my broom." He sighed. "Look, I'd really prefer to talk to your face, so open up."

"No."

"Please?"

"No!" growled Katie. "Go away!"

"Fine!" snapped Fred. "I'll shout it through the door where everyone can hear, shall I?"

"If it's so important that you feel the need to tell me even though I won't listen."

Fred ground his teeth in anger. "Katie, I don't want there to be and awkwardness after- you know- tonight. I want us to be like how we were before, so _please_ just open the bloody door!"

"But that's not possible Fred!" Katie couldn't believe that she was crying. She never cried. That bastard had made her cry. "I can't talk to you, just leave me alone!"

She was rinsing her hair when there was another knock on the door.

"Katie?"

"Fred, bugger off!"

"It's George. Hey Katie, did you know that Fred's liked you since fourth year?"

"Piss off."

Ten minutes later- another knock.

"Katie, its Ginny Weasley. Are you done in there?"

Katie wrenched the door open. "Yes! Fine! Jesus, what _is_ it with you Weasleys? Can't you bloody well leave me alone?"

*

Katie pinched her cheeks to put some colour in them and carefully ruffled her hair. With false enthusiasm she bounded down the stairs.

"Morning!" she said brightly to Leanne, Hazel and Rachel.

They gawped back.

"Oh my god, you look _awful_" Hazel squawked.

"Thanks." muttered Katie moodily.

"Seriously, Katie, you look like you didn't sleep at all last night." said Rachel.

"Well, that's near enough the truth." she mumbled.

"I saw you leave with Jacques." Hazel grinned, winking. "Were you with him last night?"

"No!" Katie snorted, pulling a face.

"Fred?" gasped Rachel. Leanne said nothing but watched her best friend with concern.

"_No!"_ snapped Katie. "God, what kind of a girl does everyone think I am? Do I look like a slut? Do I look easy? What is it? Do I exude some kind of aura that says 'hey I'm a whore, sleep with me'? Because I'm NOT!"

Her three bemused friends watched her storm upstairs, utterly confused.

"How offended so you think she would have been if I said yes?" asked Hazel.

"Shut up Hazel." said Leanne angrily. "Something's wrong with Katie, don't be such a bitch."

She ignored Hazel's outraged face and ran up the stairs to find Katie.

Meanwhile Fred sat glowering in a corner.

"Are you pissed off at the French guy, Katie or yourself?" Angelina asked casually, painting her nails.

"You know Angelina, I'm not staying here if you're not going to shut up." said Fred violently.

She raised an eyebrow. Fred watched as Katie come down, looking pale and wan, then run back upstairs after a few minutes. He made up his mind and marched out of the common room.

*

"Katie?"

Katie clenched a fist. She was sick of hearing her name and the next person who said it was getting a punch in the face.

She was standing with Leanne in the courtyard, having just told her the whole story. And hearing that stupid French voice was _not_ making her feel any better.

"What?" she said aggressively.

"I just wish to apologise for my be'aviour at ze ball." Jacques said stiffly. "I realise zat it was very rude-"

Leanne snorted and eyed his split lip speculatively.

"-And I hope zat you accept my apology."

Katie exchanged a glance with Leanne, who looked amused. Behind Jacques she could see his friend Marie openly laughing at him.

"Erm, ok." said Katie, fighting a smile. "Apology accepted. Thanks."

As she turned to leave Jacques called after her "Can you tell your ginger friend zat I 'ave said sorry?"

"I don't have any ginger friends." Katie said firmly, ignoring Leanne's sighs and the fact that Rachel was also a red head.

"Well, ze one 'oo interrupted us at ze ball zen."

Katie whipped around to face him. "What?" she said quickly.

"Fred." coughed Leanne.

"Is that who did you lip in?" said Katie, interestedly.

"Sorry?" asked Jacques.

"Is that who.." she trailed off and gestured to her lip.

Jacques scowled and she took that for a yes. "Whoa." She breathed. She linked arms with Leanne and began to pull her away.

"And Katie Bell?" She tried to refrain from turning around and hitting him from using her name _again_. "Yes?" she said through gritted teeth.

"If it doesn't work out with Ginger, I still would not say no."

Leanne had to forcibly drag Katie away before she attacked Jacques.

"Guess who just came to talk to Katie?" burst out Leanne the second they were back in the common room.

"Fred!" squealed Hazel and Rachel at the same time.

"_No_." said Katie dully, throwing herself onto a chair. "Jacques."

"Ew." said Hazel sympathetically.

"He came to say sorry for nearly raping her-" began Leanne.

"He didn't 'nearly rape' me at all." Katie interrupted irritably.

"Why are you defending him?" asked Rachel.

"Who cares about that?" said Leanne impatiently."The only reason he even came over was because Fred punched him in the mouth and made him apologise!"

"Oh, my god Katie." gasped Hazel. "You have to go and talk to him now."

"I know." said Katie, quietly.

*

"Fred, why don't you just talk to Katie?" tried Alicia.

"No."

"You could always leave it a few days and then-"

"No."

"But-"

"No!" snapped Fred. "I've taken enough rejection from Katie. I'm not doing it anymore. She's. Not. Interested. End of story."

*

Fred was sitting on a rock, looking out over the lake and lobbing stones in it when Katie approached him.

"Hi Fred." she said nervously.

"Oh, talking to me now are you?" he replied moodily.

"Apparently so."

Fred sighed to himself and then patted the rock next to him. "Sit."

She sat cross legged next to him. "So..." she hesitated, swallowed. "I had an interesting conversation with Jacques earlier."

Fred froze. "Oh, yeah?" he said, trying to act casual, even though his heart was pounding madly.

"Yeah...he, er...seems to be under the impression that some short angry ginger bloke punched him and made him apologise for being a pervert."

"Mmm-hmm?"

"Mmm-hmm." She paused. She could feel her heart thudding in her throat. Changing her tone to a more cheerful one she said "So, how do you think I should thank the mysterious knight in shining armour?"

"Well..." Fred pretended to ponder, but hope was springing up inside him. "You could thank him with a kiss."

"You think?" said Katie, rasing her eyebrows. "That's not to cheesy is it?"

"Cheesy is good." Fred told her. "Here, like this." He pulled her to her feet. "Under mistletoe would be more romantic."

"You're a sap." She said. "And mistletoe is overrated. Then what?"

"Well, you could step so close your feet are touching and pull him close..."

She shuffled forward and wrapped her hands around his neck. He swallowed with difficulty, and then bent his head down, closer to her lips...

And then Katie stepped back and removed her hands.

"Right, thanks for the advice." She said cheerily, turning to go.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Fred, looking confused.

"To find Ron." said Katie as if it were obvious.

He grinned, grabbed her hand and whirled her into a kiss.

Crammed into one small space, all trying to peer through the relatively small window George and Alicia, Angelina and Lee, Rachel, Leanne and Hazel all whooped and cheered.

Katie pulled away and glanced up. "Our friends are spying on us." She said conversationally.

"Perverts!" Fred called up at them. George stuck his fingers up at them.

"Lets go somewhere more private." Fred whispered in her ear. Katie grinned and as they walked off she looked back to her friends and gave a small satisfied wave.


	4. Expectations

**In the car I just can't wait/ to pick you up on our very first date/Is it cool if I hold your hand?/Is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?/Do you like my stupid hair?/Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?/I'm too scared of what you think/You make me nervous so I really can't eat **_- First Date: Blink 182_

Fred bounded over to Katie. "Happy New Year!" he grinned.

"What is _that_?" asked Katie, pointing to the large green plant in his hands.

"Left over mistletoe." He beamed. "We have to kiss under it!"

"Er, why?" asked Katie absently doodling on a piece of parchment.

"Because...it's romantic." said Fred, as if stating the obvious.

"And because he went out and got it specially." interjected Lee as he walked past. The tips of Fred's ears went pink but he held it determinedly over Katie's head anyway.

"What is with the obsession with mistletoe all about?" mumbled Katie, but her heart fluttered as she gave him the obligatory kiss. "Sap" she whispered with a grin.

They squashed up together on a comfy chair in the corner.

"Don't they look cute?" Angelina said wistfully to Alicia.

At that moment Katie burst out laughing, Fred looking a little put out.

"It's not that funny." He said to her.

"Fred," snorted Katie "You're middle name is Fabian. Of course it's funny! Fabian for Christ's sake! It sounds like a gay shoe designer- _Fahbian_. What's Georges?"

"Gideon." replied Fred. "No doubt that's hilarious too."

"Not as funny as Fahbian." pointed out Katie "Gideon sounds more like some old guy living in Mississippi or somewhere sitting in a rocking chair with a grey grizzly old dog and a shotgun shouting 'git off mah porch!'"

"Where the hell do you get these ideas from?" asked Fred, furrowing his brow.

"TV mainly. Why is it FF and GG? Would it have been better the other way around?"

"Yes...well...I don't know!" burst out Fred. "Take it up with my mother; she's the sadist that named me! After her brothers. Who died, might I add, fighting against you-know-who."

"Yeah, I know about your uncles Fred." said Katie, unimpressed. "But how come it's Fahbian-"

"Stop saying it like that!"

"_Fahbian_, Gideon and Molly? I mean...Molly. It doesn't really...fit, does it?"

"Katie, shut up." grinned Fred, pinching her lips together with his fingers. "Everyone has horrible middle names that they hate. Lee's is Horatio for God's sake! What's yours?"

"Emma." she said smugly. Fred looked slightly crestfallen.

"So, anyway." He changed the subject. "Are you coming to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?"

*

"Leanne, help!" begged Katie. "I'm meeting Fred for our first date in like ten minutes and I don't know what to wear!"

Leanne blearily opened one eye and poked her head out from under her duvet. "You've left it a bit late haven't you?" she yawned.

"I've been busy studying."

"Snogging more like." snorted Leanne. "Wear those pink jeans you bought the other day."

"Won't that make me look a bit weird? I want to try and be normal for our date."

"Look, Katie, Fred knows you've got a...colourful taste in clothes. You've know him for years. Wear it with black boots and top and stuff..." Leanne trailed off and closed her eyes, snuggling back into her bed. "Have fun. And straighten your hair."

"Useless." huffed Katie, pulling her jeans on.

*

"Fred, calm down." said Lee, sounding irritated. "Why are you so nervous? It's only bloody Katie."

"You've been snogging her for weeks." added Angelina.

"Yes, I know." said Fred, shifting from foot to foot in impatience. "But this is our first date and I don't want to mess it up."

"You'll be _fine_." said Angelina. Then she looked him up and down. "Well, ok no you won't, but don't worry, she knows you're an idiot. Just don't say anything mean or stupid."

"See you later." said Lee clapping Fred on the back and wandering off with Angelina to stand with some other sixth years.

Fred smiled goofily as Katie walked up to him.

"Hey." She said.

"Hi." There was a pause. Should he hold her hand? "Shall we..." he gestured to the doors.

It was cold but Fred was too preoccupied with the self doubts that were suddenly plaguing him. He'd never been on a proper date with a girl that he'd really liked. There had been girls, sure, but there had never really been anything _there_ with them.

"God, I'm cold." hinted Katie. "This coat isn't very warm for a winter one."

Fred out his arm around her but it wasn't the normal way he put his arm around her. It was odd, stilted.

"Ok...Fred why are you being so weird?" asked Katie bluntly.

"I'm not!" he protested as they emerged into the village. "So where do we go? Madam Puddifoots?"

"Take me in there and I will vomit." She warned him. He grinned and made himself relax a little.

"How about the three broomsticks?" suggested Katie "We could go in that little alcove bit."

Fred pushed the door open and gestured for Katie to go in first. "After you."

"How gentleman like." teased Katie, looking around. "Damn!"

Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang were heading towards the alcove.

"Quick!" Without thinking about it Fred grabbed Katie's hand and they ran across the room, Katie sending a third year flying, Fred leaping over a chair. They threw themselves onto the wood, sliding superbly in front of a very surprised Diggory and Chang.

"Sorry." smiled Fred politely, squeezing Katie's hand. "This seat's taken."

"Madam Puddifoot's is pretty empty." chimed in Katie with an equally angelic smile.

The other couple walked off looking very annoyed. Katie was giggling to herself, but Fred had realised he was finally holding her hand. It hadn't been awkward because it had been instinctive. He hadn't thought about it.

So that was the trick. And from then on Fred decided that whenever he was with Katie he wouldn't think.

**A/N Ok, I know that Fred doesn't seem like he would be sappy but you never know. I have a friend who's really sappy round his g/f (i stole the mistletoe thing from what he did this christmas just gone) and he's quite like Fred in the way that you wouldn't expect him to be all romantic. **

**Another thing is, I've decided that I'm going to put the prompt on the chapter, to prove that I am sticking to the rules and not just making it up lol =]**

**Chapter 1- Introduction**

**Chapter 2- Trouble lurking**

**Chapter 3- Tears**

**And this chapter (4) was expectations. **


	5. Insanity

**Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming/ Back to the rule and I hit the ground running/ Didn't make sense not to live for fun/ Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb/ So much to do so much to see/ So what's wrong with taking the back streets/ You'll never know if you don't go/ You'll never shine if you don't glow-**_ All Star- Smash Mouth_

Katie poked George in the chest.

"I bloody hate your bloody brother's bloody girlfriend!"

"Yourself?" asked George.

Katie looked at him blankly. "What?"

"Well," explained George. "Fred's my brother and you're his girlfriend, so...oh never mind."

"Right." said Katie frowning.

"So, who do you hate?" he prompted.

"Hermione sodding Granger!" she growled instantly. "She had the _cheek_, the _audacity-"_

"Ooh, big word coming from you."

"-shut it Weasley- to come over to me and Fred and tell me that the library is a place to work and that my OWLs aren't very far away and that I should start preparing for them.

"That bitch." said George sarcastically.

"Well, what were you and Fred doing?" Alicia asked lazily.

Katie hesitated. "Studying." She said shiftily.

George snorted sceptically. "Studying? Yeah, ok, what- the inside of each others mouths?"

"...Divination."

"You don't even turn up to the lessons!" said Alicia disbelievingly.

"Well...that's why I was revising? Look, whatever, the point is _why_ is your brother even going out with her? What does he see in that boring-"

"You sound like you fancy Ron." interrupted George.

"Anyway Ron isn't going out with Hermione." said Alicia absently.

"Yes he is."

"No he isn't."

"Yes he is!" insisted Katie. "They got together at the Yule Ball!"

"No, they didn't actually." said George. "Hermione went with Krum to make Ron jealous- which worked- but they're not together."

"Yet." muttered Alicia.

"Bloody hell, they're worse than me and Fred!" grinned Katie.

"Didn't you hear them shouting on the night of the Yule Ball?" asked George.

"Er... I was a bit busy with my own arguments to be honest." Katie said truthfully.

Alicia smirked. "Anyway, are you standing with us or Leanne and that lot tomorrow?"

"To...morrow?" repeated Katie, wracking her brains to try and remember what was happening.

"The second task." Alicia helpfully reminded her.

"Oh! Yeah, I'll be there with Fred."

George stood. "Speaking of my twin, I have to go and find him- we've got to go see a man about an owl."

As soon as he was gone, Alicia turned to Katie, with a determined look on her face "So, do you know what is going on with Bagman and the twins?"

*

"Bet you five sickles Harry's up first." said Fred.

"You're on." said Katie immediately. "I think it'll be Diggory."

"What? No way." said Fred shaking his head.

"Diggory's not going to twat around like Harry will." said Katie reasonably. "Potter hasn't got a prayer. Or even a plan. Look he's just standing there chewing gum."

"I don't think that's chewing gum Katie." said Fred as Harry jerked into the water.

"Belly flop!" crowed Katie. Fred nudged her.

"We're supposed to be supporting him." He pointed out.

Katie shrugged.

*

"Well, this is boring." announced Fred precisely six minutes later. "I can't see a bloody thing."

"Except for that rather exciting piece of seaweed type thing." said Katie, pointing.

"Back in a minute." Fred told George, pulling Katie away.

When they returned half an hour later Katie had twigs in her hair.

*

"I spy with my little eye," said Katie, bored. "Something beginning with...DIGGORY!"

She stood up and pointed. The listless crowd, hearing her screech, also stood and stared.

"You could have at least given me time to answer." Fred grinned. He look at her outstretched hand. "What?"

"Diggory's up first." Katie wiggled her fingers. "I win. Pay up."

"Harry better have a good reason for letting that poof beat him." moaned Fred.

*

"Fred, where the hell have you been?" asked Katie during the celebratory party.

"Why did you corner Bagman earlier?" demanded Alicia at the same time.

Fred glanced nervously at his twin. "Er..."

"Is it to do with that stupid money he gave you? The leprechaun gold?"

"Kind of..." hedged George.

Alicia and Katie exchanged a glance, unconvinced. They steered the twins out of the common room.

Fred gulped audibly.

*

"Let me get this straight." said Katie, stupefied. "You're blackmailing Ludo Bagman, one of the best beaters since forever and Head of Magical Sports?"

"Yes." said the twins.

"Er...why?" asked Katie, ignoring a furious look from Alicia that clearly stated that she was meant to be mad.

"He didn't give us our gold!"

"Yes," said Katie impatiently. "I realised that, but has the fact that he is a complete idiot escaped your notice?"

Fred beamed at Katie as Alicia marched out. Katie winked back at him as she followed her friend out.

"Hey Alicia!" she called. "Wait!"

Alicia whirled around. "How can you stand there so calmly?"

"Why are you so upset?" asked Katie, bemused.

"They're blackmailing Ludo Bagman!" cried Alicia.

"Yeah, I got that." said Katie in a disinterested tone. "So?"

"Katie. They are _blackmailing _him! It's _illegal_! They're mad! Completely mad!"

"Oh, big deal." shrugged Katie. "I mean, yes, it's an insane idea, but only because he's too thick to realise it, so they're not exactly making any progress."

"Oh, you're just as bad as them." huffed Alicia.

Katie smiled to herself, secretly, illogically, pleased to be grouped with them.

**A/N Sorry if you get two updates for this its the same chapter just changed a couple of grammar things =) Oh and the prompt for this chapter was Insanity. Up next: Drive!**


	6. Drive

**We used to drive all night and listen to the radio/ We'd put the front seat up and make the back our bedroom/ Stay here all night long, be strong, forget the world we're living in/ Mother I know you know I'm having a good time/I'm sleeping so little but I'm living a good life/ No need to worry got a place to lay my head down/ No need to worry I got a place to sleep-**_That for Me: Forever the Sickest Kids_

**Prompt: Drive**

Lee carefully aimed and lobbed a ball of parchment at Fred and Katie. He missed.

"Pitiful." said Angelina, casually throwing her own missile at them.

"Get a room!" called Lee when they looked over. Katie stuck her fingers up at him, but they left the common room anyway.

"Hey, where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"We're going for a nice walk, seeing as we're clearly too happy and lurved up for anyone to tolerate our presence in the common room." replied Fred, leading her to a window.

"Oh, ok…but, er, aren't you forgetting something? Namely, the stairs?" Katie hung back warily as Fred opened the window and ungracefully clambered out.

"There's ivy all the way down." He said. "It's perfectly safe."

"Fred, please."

"Trust me." He grinned "Its fine."

"Oh sure. What could be safer that scaling down a fifty foot wall on ivy? I must be mental to trust you. Why I can't I find someone to talk me on romantic moonlit walks? Oh _no_ I have to pick the boy who makes me climb down walls that are about a million years old holding onto _leaves_ for safety-"

"Katie, stop chuntering."

"I'm not. I'm trying to keep my mind of the eighty five thousand drop below me actually."

"Let's not hyperbolise Kate."

"You better have a good reason for this Weasley." She warned. "I swear to god, if I die I'll come back to haunt you and then kill you in the most gruesome and painful way poss-oh!" She looked around in surprise at being on solid ground.

"Told you."

"Shut up."

Fred took Katie's hand. "Ok, we're going into the forest, but first we-"

"The FOREST?!"

He clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shh!" he hissed. "Don't let them know! We have to leg it down to Hagrid's first. And be quick because it's chucking it down."

And then he ran, pulling Katie with him. Ignoring her protests he sprinted past the greenhouses, and, after checking that the coast was clear, into the forest.

"Why are we here?" moaned Katie. "Couldn't we just stay in the lovely warm common room, nauseating people?"

Fred was already picking his way through the leaves and roots. Katie sighed grumpily and followed him, muttering to herself. She walked into him as he came to a sudden halt.

"Ta-da!"

"No way!" Katie gawped at the blue car in front of her. "It's the flying car!"

"Yep!" beamed Fred proudly. "Katie, meet Oliver. Me and George spent like a month trying to track her down."

She shook her fringe-which was sopping wet- out of her eyes and stepped forward to examine it.

"Come on Kate, get in!" Fred was clearly excited at the prospect of driving at breakneck speed in an old car through a crowded forest with enormous roots to send the car flying and teeming with dangerous, probably hungry animals. And, being the idiot that she was, Katie was too.

*

It quickly became a regular activity, the climb down the ivy, the sprint across the lawn, the hunt for the absent minded and often absent car, the drive, the radio and the backseat kisses. It gave them a chance to forget everything happening around them, forget the pressures of school- not that Fred felt much pressure from school- and just relax together.

Plus it meant that they didn't have to risk getting pulled out of a broom cupboard by Filch, like so many other couples.

The tradition continued over the next few months, until one April evening.

*

Katie hummed to herself as Fred rummaged in the bushes to find the car.

"Oliver's got to be round here somewhere." mumbled Fred. "I can hear the engine rumbling."

She turned from watching him, impatient, and froze.

"Fred?" she squeaked.

"Hold on…" called back Fred.

"Fred, I think that we should go." She said in a very high pitched voice.

"Why? Look, the car's round here somewhere, if you're nervous do that babbling thing that you always do."

"Babble?" hissed Katie, "Ok, I'll babble. Hey Fred, do you remember a few years ago when Harry Potter and co. busted their way through a load of obstacles to save the philosophers stone like that massive chess set, and there was that dog? Remember that?"

"Yeah…" said Fred slowly, wondering what was coming next.

"Well, I think we've just found where it's been living."

Fred turned. There, gigantic, slavering and angrily growling was the enormous three headed dog that Hagrid had misguidedly named Fluffy.

"Oh, shit." breathed Fred.

Fluffy opened his mouth and bellowed. Fred and Katie screamed at the same time and then ran for it.

"What- we need- is music." panted Fred, neatly vaulting over a log.

"Well-let me get- my guitar out- then!" Katie yelled. "Oh wait- I must have- left it at- the castle!"

She tripped, swearing profusely as she regained her balance. Behind, the dog thundered after them.

"We could- always sing." He gasped.

"ARE YOU- FUCKING- JOKING?" she screamed "I AM NOT- PISSING WELL- SINGING TO- A HOMOCIDAL DOG!"

"It's just a suggestion!" shouted back Fred.

"Well, why don't we whistle?" she snarled.

"Sure!" he yelled. "Know any calls?"

"Oh tons!" she shrieked sarcastically. "I'm quite the woodsman!"

It was at this point that they realised that there was no ominous crashing coming from behind them. Instead there was a deep rumbling and the sound of someone frantically plucking on an instrument.

They skidded to a halt. Sweaty, shaking and red faced, they grasped hands and proceeded carefully around a corner where they saw Hagrid with his eyes closed playing an old banjo. They stared for a minute or so- repressing slightly hysterical laughter- before slowly backing away, trying not to make a sound.

Needless to say the night time forest drives ceased from that point onwards. However, as they left their forest, Katie could be heard to say, without a hint of sarcasm "That was fun."

**A/N Yeah this was a bit of a random chapter, but I had to write it =] I ADORE this song (actually I just love FTSK full stop) and I always wondered what happened to Fluffy.**

**Two more things: a) The car is named Oliver after Richard Hammond's car in that Top Gear episode where they drive across Botswana (hilarious OLIIVERRR!! Float Oliver!!-sorry) and b) that thing about the whistling and being quite the woodsman is stolen from friends. Its one of my favourite quotes and I couldn't resist putting it in.**

**Up next: Annoyance!**


	7. Annoyance

**Well now then Mardy Bum/ Oh I'm in trouble again, aren't I?/ I thought as much/ Cause you turned over there/ Pulling that silent disappointment face/ The one that I can't bear/ Why can't we, just laugh and joke around/ Remember cuddles in the kitchen/ Yeah, to get things off the ground/ And it was up, up and away/ Oh, but it's right hard to remember/ That on a day like today when you're all argumentative/ And you've got the face on-**_Mardy Bum: Arctic Monkeys_

**Prompt: Annoyance**

April morphed into May. The weather got nicer, but as exams got closer and the pressure on Katie from her parents and teachers to do well in her OWLs got heavier, she got more and more stressed. She snapped at everyone and began to bicker with Fred. It was nothing serious- she used him to vent her frustration on and he simply responded in a similar vein.

Until one evening when things reached boiling point. Fred was winding Katie up, sick of her moods and constant sniping.

"Shut _up_!" snapped Leanne. "We're trying to _revise_ over here!"

Katie scowled over at her friend. "Fred," she said through gritted teeth. "You don't mind if I put that I'm going to kill you with a fork for Divination do you?"

"Knock yourself out." He replied, irritated and then, under his breath, "Then I won't have to listen to you go on all the bloody time."

Katie slammed her quill down.

"Here we go." mumbled Rachel through a mouthful of chocolate.

"What are you doing here if all you're going to do is bug the hell out me?"

"You are so _touchy_ all the time! I don't do anything and you start having a go at me-"

"I do _not_ always have a go at you that is such _crap_-"

"-I don't do anything and-"

"-You're just constantly winding me up, when you _know_ I'm stressed as hell-"

"-Always in a sodding mood-"

"-Oh, just piss off, will you?"

"Fine!"

Fred and Katie suddenly realised that they were standing up, yelling at the tops of their voices.

And that the whole of the common room was staring at them.

"What are you looking at?" snarled Fred, marching out. Katie stormed off in the opposite direction.

"Oh dear." said Hazel in an undertone as they walked into the dormitory to see Katie furiously trashing it.

"Erm...Katie?" asked Rachel timidly. "Are you ok?"

"Do I look it?" Katie retorted. "I'm sick of that git, winding me up all the time. You know what? It's over. I hate him."

Leanne bit her lip in amusement at the sight of Katie on the rampage. She rolled her eyes at Hazel who shrugged and set off downstairs to wait for Katie's theatrical temper tantrum to end.

She was very quiet for the rest of the evening, ignoring the pile of revision notes she was meant to be reading and instead lying on the sofa watching the fire and listening to music on her magically adapted walkman.

By midnight only Katie and her friends were left in the common room. Fred had still not returned.

"Katie?" said Leanne, placing a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "You coming up?"

"Yeah, in a bit." Katie replied.

The three girls disappeared up the stairs and Katie continued to moodily watch the fire burn. Eventually though her eyes began to close and by the time Fred came back she was fast asleep. Fred watched her for a moment or two. Her blonde hair was mussed up and sticking out at odd angles and she was curled up. The fire was down to its final embers.

Sighing to himself, he took a blanket that had been left on an armchair and draped it over her. He tried to be careful, but she woke up anyway.

"Sorry," he whispered "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, it's you." she said ungratefully.

"Oh well sorry to bother you." He retorted, straightening up.

Katie sat up, ready to retaliate, and the blanket slid from her shoulders. She looked at the material now pooled in her lap. "Did you put this on?" she asked, surprised.

He nodded and she blinked. "Thanks." she said softly.

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Katie ached to fill it with an apology, but was battling internally with her stubbornness and her hatred of saying sorry. Little did she know that Fred was also fighting the same battle.

"Right. Night." Fred said eventually, starting to walk away. If she let him go now she might be ending their relationship.

She screwed up her resolve and as he put his foot on the first step it spilled out.

"Sorry about earlier." She said in a rush.

Fred paused and turned slowly. He looked over at Katie who twitched her lips into a hint of a sheepish smile. He grinned and ran over to the sofa, rolling over the back of it and behind Katie. She squealed and clung onto Fred as she almost fell off.

"God, you're freezing! Where the hell have you been anyway?"

"Shagging Marietta Edgecombe." He shrugged.

Katie narrowed her eyes and twisted round and began to hit Fred.

"Ow-no-ow-stop-joke! Joke!" he said laughingly, grabbing her wrists. She struggled slightly, and tried to roll, but he pinned her down.

He was just about to lean down and kiss her when she snorted.

"Why did you just snot in my face?" he said.

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't."

Just as he started to lean in for the kiss she giggled. "Well, this is cliché."

Fred laughed and leaned in even further.

**Up next: Seeking solace**


	8. Seeking Solace

**Keep me safe inside/ Your arms like towers/ Tower over me/Yeah/Cause we are broken/What must we do to restore/Our innocence/And all the promise we adored/ Give us life again cause we just wanna be whole- **_We are the broken: Paramore_

Katie's mood improved as exam after exam was crossed off the list. She also tried to stop snapping at Fred, who recognised this herculean effort and stopped winding her up.

On the morning of the third task Fred decided that as it was going to be Katie's last OWL exam he would do something special for her.

He woke up extra early and sneaked down to the kitchens where the house elves had a basket of breakfast waiting for him. He picked it up and went to wait for Katie.

Katie was feeling vey relaxed. She had a muggle studies exam and then tonight was the third task. Her good mood lifted even more when she saw Fred beaming from ear to ear just outside the great hall, waving and holding a big basket.

"I thought we could eat outside today." He said taking her hand. They strolled down to the lake and sat down.

"So, what have you got today?" he asked through a mouthful of croissant.

"Muggle Studies." She replied through an equally full mouth.

"What?" he looked alarmed. "Shouldn't you be fitting in some last minute revision?"

Katie looked at him. "When you're a half blood and have spent most of your life outside of Hogwarts living as a Muggle you tend to pick things up, and therefore don't have to learn things like ignorant pure bloods."

"Funny."

"I was being serious actually."

He narrowed his eyes. "I would be offended, but it's hard to take insults seriously from someone with butter on the side of her mouth."

Katie swiped at her face.

"No." smiled Fred. "Here." And he took her face between his hands and kissed her gently on the side of her mouth.

"Fred, you are lame." whispered Katie.

"I know." He said cheerfully "But at least it gives you something to think about during your exam."

They lay back on the blanket for a bit in silence, then packed up and meandered back for Katie's exam.

Katie finished early and spent the remaining time doodling Fred's name on a scrap of paper. As soon as it was done she raced off to see him. She was done, free to spend the rest of the term relaxing.

What she didn't know was that events that night would change everything.

She bounded into the Great Hall, coming to a halt when she nearly banged into a tall good looking guy.

"Sorry!" she spluttered. Rachel was gawping at him, but Leanne seemed to be having trouble breathing. He grinned and went and sat down by Harry Potter and Ron and George Weasley.

"Is that...Bill Weasley?" said Rachel, staring after him.

"He is gorgeous." drooled Leanne.

"I know." Katie agreed fervently. "God, I really picked the wr-"

"Hello, Kate." butted in Fred.

"-Right brother." she finished hastily. "Hi Fred."

"How was the exam?" he said, one eyebrow raised.

"Erm, fine." She said, trying not to catch Rachel's eye.

"Do you want to come and meet my Mum?"

"What?" asked Katie, panicked. "Why?"

Fred took Katie's hand. "She just wants to meet her beloved son's girlfriend that's all. You know, see if you're worthy of me and stuff."

Katie gulped. "What if she doesn't like me?"

Fred shrugged. "Then she doesn't like you. Doesn't make any difference, I still do. Don't worry; Alicia is being put through this too."

"That was the wrong answer. You were meant to reassure me that she'll adore me and send me Easter eggs like she does with Hermione Granger." said Katie nervously as Fred steered her towards Mrs Weasley and Bill.

"Mum, Bill, this is Katie." announced Fred, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders as if to prevent her from making a run for it.

"Hi," said Katie, with a little smile. She glanced at Alicia who was sat next to Ron and widened her eyes at Katie slightly.

"Hello dear." said Mrs Weasley with a warm smile. "It's lovely to meet you. Fred's told me about you of course."

Fred groaned and pushed Katie down into a seat next to George.

Later Fred and Katie made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. "Have you _seen_ what they've done to the pitch?" said Katie indignantly. "Ruined! That is so rude!"

Fred wasn't really listening to Katie's rant, he was thinking about the summer and the time that he and Katie could spend together.

As they took their seats Katie groaned. "Oh god. Don't look now, but Jacques is, like, three seats to your left. Oh crap he's looking!"

Fred grinned mischievously at her. "Let him look." He told her and pulled her into a kiss- the type of Oscar award winning kiss that teachers didn't want happening in front of them. They only broke apart when Professor Sinatra told them she'd ban them from watching the third task.

Soon they were wishing that she had banned them. It was just a dull to watch as the second task had been. Fred and Katie had dutifully cheered when Harry went in but spent the next couple of hours coming up with new and inventive insults, not realising that their whole world was changing at that moment.

When Harry slammed onto the ground at first they didn't know what was going on. It was only once people starting murmuring and standing up that they began to realise something serious had happened. As the news that Diggory was dead was relayed Harry disappeared, as did Ron and Hermione, Bill and Mrs Weasley.

"What do you think has happened?" whispered Katie.

Fred looked grim and anxious. "You-Know-Who." He said softly. "What else?"

They drew slightly closer together and he put his arm around her tightly.

"Let's go back up to the castle." He suggested, looking out for George and Alicia.

Everyone else seemed to have had the same idea- people were practically running up to the castle. They found George and Alicia in the deathly silent common room. It was so full that nobody noticed the twins slip out, or return ashen white.

Alicia and Katie looked up, their questions in their eyes. Fred nodded and the blood drained out of Katie's face.

Slowly pupils drifted to bed, most saying nothing, until the only two left in the common room were the twins.

"I'm going to bed." said George "I'm shattered."

As George went up the boy's staircase a small blonde figure came down the girls'. She was wearing shorts and a strappy top because of the heat, but she was shivering.

"Katie!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing? Are you ok?"

She shook her head quickly. "No," she said in a hoarse whisper "No, no, no. I'm scared."

"Come here." He said, and he wrapped his arms around her. They sat like that until Katie dropped off to sleep on his shoulder. Once she was sleeping he put her on the sofa and covered her with a blanket, feeling a bizarre mixture of feelings: protectiveness, gentleness, anger at those who had scared her and something much stronger that he didn't dare name.


	9. Family

**Let me know that I've done wrong/ When I've known this all along/ I go around a time or two/ Just to waste my time with you/ Tell me all that you've thrown away/ Find out games you don't wanna play/ You are the only one that needs to know/ I'll keep you my dirty little secret(Dirty little secret)/ Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret/ (Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)/ My dirty little secret/ Who has to know?- **_Dirty little secret: All-American Rejects_

"Trunk, handbag, money, keys, make-up..." Katie mumbled to herself "Muggle clothes, wand-"

"First sign of madness talking to yourself." she heard Fred's voice from behind her.

"Actually the first sign of madness is hairs on the back of your hand." countered Katie, smirking when he flipped his hand over to check and adding under her breath "Second sign is looking for them."

"Ha ha ha." said Fred sarcastically "You're so funny. Anyway, am I going to see you in the holidays?"

"Well, I'll probably spend half the holidays being shunted between my parents, but hey- you can apparate can't you? Give you a chance to practice. And give you a chance to meet _my_ terrifying mother."

"Katie, your Mum is about as terrifying as a highlighter." Leanne butted in. "Now kiss Fred bye and let us get on the train already."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Fred double checked the hall. Empty. Excellent.

"Good luck." said George "If Mum finds out you are so dead."

"That's all part of the fun." Grinned Fred and promptly disappeared into thin air.

With a pop he appeared in the field that Katie had directed him to. She was waiting for him in muggle clothes. Fred thought she looked so much prettier in those instead of the robes that drowned her petite figure."

"So am I meeting the parents?" teased Fred. Katie gave a half smile, but blushed slightly.

"What?" he demanded instantly.

"Well...to be honest Fred, they don't know that we're...you know...together." She looked guiltily at her feet.

"You haven't told them?" he repeated incredulously. "Why?"

"Because they _hate_ boyfriends!" burst out Katie. "Well, Dad does anyway, especially after Andie went and got herself knocked up at 17. And I can't tell Mum because she'll end up telling Dad. I swear, for a divorced couple they talk too much."

"Right." He said tersely. There was a tense silence.

"I'll tell him if you want." sighed Katie eventually "But, I'm serious, he'll kill you."

Fred smiled. "Well, that would be a bit inconvenient as then George would have to run the shop on his own."

She gaped. "What? Did- did you get it?"

"Yes!" he cried happily. She shrieked in excitement and gave Fred a big hug,

"Let's go celebrate in town!" she beamed. "We can get the train in- we're so far out here it's quicker to take the train rather than the bus- and we can go to this little place-"

"Train?" interrupted Fred.

"Oh." Katie bit her lip "You've never taken muggle transport."

"I've driven a car."

"The car _flies._ No muggle cars fly...except for chitty chitty bang bang..."

"And the Knight Bus."

"Er, Muggle buses don't move from Dundee and Derby in two seconds flat."

Fifteen minutes late Katie groaned to herself as Fred gaped excitedly at the big shiny metal thing on track pull up.

"It's like an extra long bus!" he grinned excitedly. "I can sometimes see why Dad gets so into this you know..."

"Bless you." said Katie fondly. "Now follow me and don't say anything." Obediently Fred followed as they went on and sat down.

"Katie," he whispered after several minutes. "This is incredibly dull."

"What did you expect? I told you it wasn't the Knight Bus." She hissed back, but she didn't hear his reply. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Don't look now but that girl in the pink skirt is my old best friend and I really don't want to talk-oh god she's coming over." Katie turned to the girl with a big fake smile on her face. "Hi!"

Fred was amazed- considering Katie hadn't wanted to talk to Pink Skirt she sounded pretty pleased about it.

"Kay!" beamed Pink Skirt. "How _are_ you?"

"I'm great! How about you?" replied Katie, gritting her teeth against the mention of _Kay_. "Er, this is my boyfriend, Fred. Fred this is my oldest friend, Hannah."

"Fred." repeated Hannah, her smile fading a little. "Hi." She looked at Katie quizzically, who forced a smile.

"We go to the same school." explained Katie "Fred's in the same house as me, but a year older."

"Ooh, houses at the posh boarding school." smirked Hannah.

"Yeah, we get sorted into them at the start of our first year," said Fred. "By a singing hat."

There were several seconds of silence then Katie forced a laugh.

"He thinks he's funny." Katie told Hannah with a confidential air.

Hannah grimaced. "You always did have...unusual tastes in boys Kay. Remember Marcus?"

"I try not to." said Katie, taking Fred's hand and digging her fingernails into his palm. He lasted until the train pulled into the station and they got off. Then Katie was forced to let go when Hannah insisted on a hug before bounding off with a "See you Kay-babes!"

"Kay-babes." Katie snorted. "I haven't seen her for a year. But why did you tell her about the sorting hat? Now she thinks I only like nut jobs!"

"Why, who was Marcus?" enquired Fred.

"Some extremely good looking freak who I fancied last summer then dumped after one _horrendous_ double date." replied Katie. "Who knew hot guys could be so weird?"

"It's a good job you got a hot one who's also very normal, then, isn't it?"

Katie laughed, then clocked the serious expression on his face and raised her eyebrows at him. "Shall we eat?"

Lacing their fingers together they strolled through town.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Their secret meetings became a habit over the holiday. Fred's parents didn't know that he was sneaking out to see Katie and her parent's were blissfully unaware that Katie even had a boyfriend.

One hot Monday near the end of August they went to see Fred and George's new shop. Katie got very excited at the chance to play house, but Fred seemed a bit distracted.

"Ok, what's up?" asked Katie eventually.

"Ginny knows that I've been sneaking out to see you and she's threatening to tell Mum unless I bribe her."

"That girl. She seems so innocent but she has no shame." grinned Katie. "Are you going to stop coming?"

"No."

"Well, there's only two weeks left of the holiday anyway." She said comfortingly. "So that's only like what? Four payments?"

"And then an end to the sneaking around." Fred reminded her. "And then we can snog without worrying about parents."

"Family." said Katie, smiling weakly. "Who's have them?"


	10. Are you challenging me?

**Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend/ No way, no way, I think you need a new one/ Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend/ Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me/ No way, no way, you know it's not a secret/ Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend/ You're so fine, I want you mine, you're so delicious/ I think about you all the time, you're so addictive/ Don't you know what I can do to make you feel alright?_- Girlfriend: Avril Lavigne_  
**

"History of Magic? _History of Magic? You _are taking _History of Magic_, the most boring subject ever invented at NEWT level? _Why?_" Fred stared at Katie, completely nonplussed.

"I like it!" she said defensively. "And I'm good at it- I got an O at OWLs!"

"But another two years of Binns..." he finished with a shudder.

"No, moron, do you think that Dumbledore would do that to his NEWT students? There's a special History teacher- Professor "call-me-Jed" Donners."

"Well, I still can't believe that you got an O in History of Magic and Muggle Studies, but a T in potions." grinned Fred. "How did you do that?"

"My Dad's a muggle," shrugged Katie "I did the exam in about ten minutes."

"Potions?" he prompted "I mean...how?"

"It's hard! It's ok for you Mr-Cauldron man-"

"Mr Cauldron Man?" repeated Fred, laughing "What are you on about? Is that my new nickname?"

"Oh, I don't know. But you have to admit Snape's lessons were absolute- god, is this woman _ever_ going to shut up?"

Fred and Katie glanced up to the top table where the new defence against the dark arts teacher was prattling on. Luckily she seemed to have run out of steam and Dumbledore dismissed them.

"So, I was thinking we could reacquaint ourselves with the Charms classroom..." said Fred into Katie's ear. "May as well start as you mean to go on."

Leanne, Rachel and Hazel were a little behind them and they watched Katie look up at Fred and laugh. He snaked an arm around her waist.

"They are so cute together." Said Leanne. Rachel grinned and agreed, but Hazel bit her lip and looked away.

*

"Katie, I need to talk to you."

Katie looked up to see Leanne looking worried. "Shoot." she said.

"Ok..." began Leanne "I don't really know how to start..."

"_What?_"

"Just shut up and listen for a moment! Now, Hazel told me what I'm about to tell you in the strictest confidence and swore me to secrecy but I don't think I can-"

"Leanne, you're such a gossip." said Katie. "Hazel's one of our best friends and if she wants it kept a secret then I think you should."

"Ok Katie, trust me, normally I would. But one of our 'best friends' appears to be a slut, so would you just _listen!_"

"Fine." Katie sat back.

"I have to tell you because it concerns you...and Fred."

"Huh?"

"HazeltoldmethatshefanciesFred."

"WHAT?"

"She Likes him. With a capital L. And...she's kind of decided to try and get him."

Katie stood up in anger "That bitch! What a slut!" She stormed.

"Please don't let her know that I told you." begged Leanne "I'm trying to persuade her to leave you two alone, but just tell Fred and watch out for her."

"I can't believe this." Katie sat down slowly. There was a pause. "What if Fred dumps me for her?"

"Don't be stupid!" snorted Leanne "Fred's crazy about you, Hazel knows that. And he is _not_ going to dump you for _her_. Just, please, for my sake, do _not_ confront her."

*

Before the first week was out Katie and Hazel were at loggerheads, declared rivals over a bemused Fred. Leanne was firmly on Katie's side; Rachel nervously hovered between the two, generally choosing to keep the otherwise lonely Hazel company.

One evening Fred went up to the owlery to post a letter to Bill. Katie was in detention with Snape for hexing a Slytherin that had tried to look up her skirt and he idly thought that he might create a diversion then pop in to see her.

He watched the owl leave, and then turned to go. He heard a creak and automatically pulled his wand out. There was a low chuckle.

"There's no need to whip your wand out for me." said a girl's voice "Or that one anyway..." As she stepped out from the shadows Fred realised who it was.

"That joke is seriously old and overused, Hazel." He said flatly. "Are you following me?"

"I came to post a letter." She moved forward a little more. Fred took a step backwards. "So, I suppose that Katie told you to stay away from me, didn't she?"

Fred wished that she would stop moving forwards. Every step towards him she took he matched with one backwards, but pretty soon he was going to be hanging out of the window.

"No," he replied casually "She told me that you liked me. _I_ decided to stay away."

Hazel sniffed sceptically "Yeah, ok. Does Katie really believe that she can keep you?"

"She should, because I'm not going anywhere." Fred said staunchly.

"But does she know that we went ou-"

"Hazel, a couple of snogs a few years ago don't count as 'going out'!" he snapped "Just back the hell off!"

Hazel looked at him, then sat down on a step and burst into tears.

Fred panicked at this. "Sorry." he said hastily, sitting down next to her. She sniffed then suddenly leaned over and kissed him.

Fred pushed her away angrily. "What are you _doing?_" he shouted "Stop it!" he lowered his voice at the expression on her face. "I'm sorry, but I don't like you in that way!"

Hazel abruptly stopped crying. "Fine," she snarled "Fine, stay with Katie even though she's boring and frigid."

"She's supposed to be your friend!" he hurled back.

"Then why is she turning everyone against me? If she wants me to be her friend then maybe she should act like one herself!" She yelled, pushing past him.

*

"Stay calm." commanded Alicia "Just ignore her she's being stupid."

Hazel was loudly talking about Katie to a mortified looking Rachel.

"I swear to God," snarled Katie through gritted teeth "If she doesn't shut up then I'm going over there and punching her in her crap lousy face!"

"No, you are not!" said Leanne firmly, grabbing Katie's arm "She'd like that- makes her look like a victim with a black eye and a broken jaw..."

"Yeah, well maybe I'd like that too." Katie muttered menacingly. "What else can I do to shut her up?"

"I could jinx her." offered Angelina.

"Whoa! Angelina if you jinx her you'll lose the Quidditch captain badge. If it's really necessary I'll do it." intejected Alicia quickly.

"Why can't I do it?" whined Katie.

In the end it was Fred who shut Hazel up, with no magic needed. As Katie walked by to go to the dormitory he grabbed her and twirled her into a kiss, just feet away from Hazel's shocked face.

She didn't say another word all night.

**A/N I am so crap at updating. I'm really far along in the story (its addictive) but I'm just so lazy at typing them up. =/ The song at the start is a bit misleading (Fred doesn't like Hazel obviously) but it gave me the idea for it so I thought I'd bung it in. There was actually a reason that I started this note, but I can't remember what it was....**


	11. Love

**How can it be that we can/ Say so much without words?/ Bless you and bless me/ Bless the bees/ And the birds/I've got to be near you/ Every night, every day/ I couldn't be happy/ Any other way/ It must be love, love, love/ It must be love, love, love/ Nothing more, nothing less/ Love is the best/ As soon as I wake up/ Every night, every day/ I know that it's you I need/ To take the blues away_- It must be love: Madness_**

Katie soared across the Quidditch pitch, revelling in the feeling of freedom that was slightly ruined by the irritating voices of several Slytherins in the stands. She vaguely considered flying into them but decided against it. It wouldn't do to end up in the hospital wings so soon in the term.

"Ok, everyone we're going to start with some passes just to warm up the whole team-"called Angelina. Katie flew into position next to George.

"Do you think I'd get detention for burning off Parkinson's hair?" she asked. He spluttered with surprised laughter.

"Why would you do that?"

"Just wondered." She shrugged. The ball passed between her team mates. Ron dropped the ball, but Katie didn't particularly notice- she was too busy idly pondering how ridiculous Pansy was for insulting Angelina's hair when she herself was sporting rather fetching bowl cut.

She snapped to attention as the ball made its way towards her. Her hands were ready, but Ron threw it too hard and it hit her in the face.

"Son of a-" Katie hissed in pain. Her nose was bleeding. Fred flew over.

"Here take this-"she practically snatched the pill of his hand "-it'll clear it up in no time." He finished.

She hovered in the air; waiting impatiently for the bleeding to stop, but the pill that she'd been given didn't seem to be working.

"And Katie, can't you do something about that nosebleed?"

"It's getting worse!" snapped Katie, feeling distinctly woozy. She caught a glimpse of Fred looking panicky and was feeling more and more light headed.

Next thing she knew the twins and Angelina were zooming straight at her. She tried to move, but instead found herself falling backwards into space.

Luckily, Fred, who was there first, caught her and propped her up on her broom. She heard Angelina tell the twins to take her to the hospital wing and one of them mention a blood blisterpod, but she was just trying to remain conscious. She was aware of the twins supporting her, but not much else.

Fred and George left the three brooms with Ginny who happened to be in the entrance hall and tried to get Katie up the stairs but she was having none of it.

"I told you we should use the brooms to get her up there." muttered George.

"She would have fallen straight off it though..." He was interrupted by Katie turning to him and slapping him lightly on the arm.

"George," she admonished Fred "Please remove your hand from my bum, because you are not my boyfriend. What would Fred say? And- and – Alicia-" Her legs buckled and Fred grasped her.

"Katie, I _am_ Fred."

"Aha!" she said triumphantly, poking him. "That's exactly what someone pretending to be Fred would say!"

Fred exchanged an amused glance with George.

"I'm all bloody." noticed Katie with surprise "Why?"

"You ate a blood blisterpod." George informed her as they struggled up to the second floor.

"Oh..." she sounded confused "Did you give it to me?"

"Er...yeah." Fred admitted.

She stumbled "You gave me a bloodster spod?" she slurred "You git- pig face-"

And then she blacked out.

*

Katie woke to see Madam Pomfrey and Angelina peering over her anxiously.

"Kate!" grinned Fred from the corner "Good of you to join us!"

Katie groaned and closed her eyes tightly. When she reopened them, however, the room was in darkness. How had it got so dark in the space of a blink?

There was a creak to her left and she sat up to grab her wand too fast- she swayed a little as all the blood rushed to her head.

Blood. That was why she was there, she was sure...

It all came rushing back to her- Ron hitting her with the quaffle, Fred giving her the blood blisterpod, George putting his hand on her butt...

"Bloody useless Weasley boys." She growled to herself.

"We're not that useless." said a disembodied voice to her right.

Katie nearly had a heart attack. She lunged for her wand, hitting her elbow on the bedside table and her shoulder on the side of the bed. She lifted her shaking wand and whispered 'lumos'.

The wand ignited, illuminating the room. To Katie's relief it showed only Fred casually sitting in an armchair with a cream éclair.

"God, Fred," panted Katie "You nearly killed me!"

He smirked. "How're you feeling?"

"I feel...groggy." replied Katie "Why are you here?"

"I came to keep you company." Said Fred "But you've been asleep so I've just been pigging out on cakes..."

"Oh...ok. How long have you been here?" asked Katie, her eyes straying to the pile of food "Does Pomfrey know you're here? Is that a jam doughnut?"

"Well, I didn't tell Pom-"

"_Is that a jam doughnut?"_

"Especially for you." He said, presenting it to her with a bow. She ate it in three bites then eyed the rest of the food hungrily. Fred was sitting on the edge of the bed now and he lay back.

"Ow." Katie complained. "You're taking up all the room, turn onto your side."

Awkward shuffling ensued but eventually Katie and Fred were lying, curled up.

"Why am I so tired?" yawned Katie "I've just slept all day..." She yawned again.

Fred idly ran a finger up her arm and up to her hair, where he played with a strand. Katie's breathing slowed, became more even.

"Night Katie." He whispered without thinking "Love you."

Katie's eyes snapped open.

"What did you just say?" She asked, twisting her head around to stare at him.

"You're awake?" he yelped "You're awake!"

"_Yeah_, I'm awake!" said Katie, looking shocked. "Did you just say that you loved me?"

"No?" Fred tried.

"You did!" gasped Katie "Oh my god, you love me!"

"Shout it a bit louder why don't you?" said Fred uncomfortably, embarrassed.

Katie's expression softened and she kissed him lightly on the lips. "It's ok," she breathed "I love you too."

*

Katie woke with a smile on her face and Fred's arm around her. Then she realised what had woken her and she kicked Fred.

"Ow!"

Katie clamped a hand over Fred's mouth. "Hide!" she whispered urgently "Pomfrey's up!"

Fred rolled off the side of the bed, taking the covers with him and landing with a muffled thump. Katie stifled a giggle.

"Quick, give me the sheets, you great prat."

Madam Pomfrey came into the room. "Oh, you're awake."

Katie prayed internally that Fred had managed to hide himself while Madam Pomfrey bustled around and gave her a check up.

"Right Miss Bell, you're free to go." She told her and went back into her office.

Fred scrambled out from under the bed clutching the rest of the food and tried to sneak past Madam Pomfrey's office window, Katie right behind him.

Poppy Pomfrey deliberately kept her back to the window so that they could get out without being seen. She gave no indication that she knew anything, but she couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of the two teenagers who had just admitted that they loved each other for the first time.

**A/N Another chapter! To make up for being SO SLOW at updating =] I've remembered what I want to say too:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the lyrics at the top of each chapter they belong to the bands named after them. So no suing svp =] I think I already diclaimed Harry Potter...but I don't own that either, just to make sure. **


	12. Breaking the rules

**Naughty boys in nasty schools/ Headmasters breaking all the rules/ Having fun and playing fools / Smashing up the woodwork tools**

**Oh what fun we had/But, did it really turn out bad/ All I learnt at school/ Was how to bend not break the rules/ Oh what fun we had/ But at the time it seemed so bad/ Trying different ways/ To make a difference to the days_- Baggy Trousers: Madness_**

"This woman is officially insane."

Katie was with Leanne in their defence against the dark arts lesson. "How are we supposed to pass NEWTs with this piece of crap?" She glared at the textbook as if it had just insulted her mother.

"Shh," whispered Leanne "You'll get detention and you'll have to carve stuff in your flesh."

Katie shuddered, but kept up the whispering all through the lesson.

She was still bitching about Umbridge in Quidditch later. Angelina and Alicia exchanged a glance and then Alicia said quietly "Harry's starting a new...club."

Katie raised her eyebrows. "A club." She repeated. "_Wow_. That sounds...fun."

"Katie it's a club run by Harry Potter, it's not gobstones."

Katie burst out laughing. "Oh my god, remember when we went there with the twins and George got a nosebleed and left us to sitting there like idiots even though it had been their idea to go in the first place and neither of us even _knew_ how to play gobstones and it was really boring and the guy was like 'see you next week' and we were like 'yeah, ok' and then spent the whole of the next year avoiding him because we never went back?"

Alicia started giggling. "Oh, god, yeah that was so funny! And we had to sit around with a bunch of people we didn't know and sew together those horrendous bags to put our gobstones in an- and-"

"We didn't even have any!" howled Katie.

Angelina gave the laughing pair a very odd look "Alicia, why don't you explain what it is while I tell the boys to get a move on?"

Katie was still smiling to herself when they were up in the air. She made her way over to Fred, ignoring the quaffle that flew past her head and Angelina's shrieks.

"Are you going to Harry's fan club?" she asked.

"Thought I might pop in." replied Fred "You?"

"Oh yeah. I'm not missing _any_ Umbridge bashing opportunities." She answered with a grin.

*

_I wonder what Hermione would look like if she put a bit of make up on _thought Katie _She's actually got really nice eyes..._

She took a swig from her butterbeer, screwing up her face in disgust as Zacharias Smith started talking. She tried to repress the urge to poke him in the back of the head.

"-He didn't tell us how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know-"

_Oh, sod it_ she thought and accidently on purpose brought her elbow down sharply onto the top of his head. He turned around looking annoyed.

"Whoops." Katie smiled sweetly "My mistake."

Katie tuned out as people started admiring Harry's magical skills and he went redder and redder. She was watching Cho and the way she looked at Harry. Interesting. She didn't think that Harry was really Cho's type.

"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it."

"What the _hell_ is his problem?" said Alicia into Katie's ear.

"That's not what he said." Fred growled. Both twins were glaring at Smith.

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" asked George, pulling out a long metal...well she didn't know what the hell it was, but it looked painful.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this." Fred looked angrily at Smith, but Katie could see the corners of his mouth twitching as though he was about to smirk. She grinned as Smith audibly gulped and she winked at Fred.

*

"So, do you get a kick out of intimidating people or something?" asked Katie later. Fred peered around a corner to check that the corridor was free. They were on their way to the nearest broom cupboard.

"Only little shits like him." replied Fred "It's clear, c'mon."

He grabbed her hand and they ran down the corridor and burst through the door. Katie turned to lock the door and Fred put his hands on her waist and kissed the side of her neck. She turned her head and he kissed her hard on the lips. She ran her hands through his hair.

The kiss deepened and Fred began to undo the buttons on Katie's shirt, almost without thinking. She pushed him away.

"You want to have sex don't you?" she said accusingly.

"No," said Fred "Why would I want to have sex with you? Don't be so vain..." He started kissing her in that new urgent way.

"Fred, we are not having sex in a bloody broom cupboard." She said tartly.

"Ok, ok..." Fred said and began kissing her again.

"Fred, are you suffering from wandering-hand-itis?"

"Fred, move your hand off there..."

"Fred, we should at least talk about it first." Katie gasped eventually.

Fred pulled back and surveyed Katie, eyes twinkling.

"Ok," he said "If you get pregnant, I'll marry you."

"Fred!"

He stood there. There was a pause.

"Ok."

He grinned but before he could say – or do- anything the door burst open and Professor Flitwick toppled in, trying to look imposing.

"What are you two doing?" He squeaked.

"Very sorry Professor." said Katie, trying not to laugh "It won't happen again."

"I should hope not!" said Flitwick, frowning as Katie smoothed her hair down.

"I'm innocent sir." said Fred with a perfectly straight face "Miss Bell just caught me and threw me in here and began to-ow!"

Katie cut him off by stamping as hard as she could on his foot.

"Well, see that it doesn't happen again!" Flitwick looked nervously around and leaned closer. "I'm not sure that _other teachers_ will be as lenient as I am. Now go."

Fred took Katie's hand and they started to make their way back to the common room. "I can't believe we got away with that." whispered Fred.

"Oh, and Weasley, Bell?"

They turned around.

"Detention, 7 pm tomorrow."

A/N Fanfiction is being really weird at the minute...or maybe its my computer. Anyway if this chapter is all weirded up I'm sorry...I'm on document manager thing and all its doing is showing 2 lines at a time with no paragraphs and it has a weird font...hope its ok when I upload it =] 


	13. Deep in Thought

**And every second is electric/ Like a thousand volts/ Not to mention, my intentions/ Only natural, and your affection/ Is the question/ I've yet to close and I'm close/ You keep giving me looks/ When you come my way/ The way you shaking me up it's like an earthquakeYou keep giving me looks/ That I can't escape/You make my pulse race-_ It's only natural: The Higher_**

Since that night where Flitwick had caught them in the cupboard there had been anew kind of intensity between Fred and Katie. It smouldered between them when they talked and sparked up when they kissed. It surprised both of them, but neither of them wanted to bring it u, so they dealt with it in the only way they knew how.

They argued.

*

"All couples have their ups and downs Katie..." Alicia was saying soothingly to Katie as she pulled her Quiddich robes over her head.

"This is not a down Alicia!" hissed Katie "I get angry just looking at his face! My own boyfriend! I'm just so pissed off at him – or about him- all the time! What's wrong with me?"

"Well," Alicia began hesitantly. "This is just my opinion, but could it be because your relationship has become kind of...stagnant?"

Katie stared "_What_?"

Alicia sighed "I think you and Fred need to move your relationship on...or not at all if that shuts you up..."

"So, what?" said Katie slowly "You think I should sleep with him or dump him?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that but..."

"Right." Katie went quiet for a moment. "Are you shagging George?"

Alicia spat out the mouthful of water she had just taken "That's a bit personal isn't it?"

Katie shrugged "Just wondered."

"Look, Katie, have you _talked_ to him?"

"Yes. No. Well, kind of." said Katie, lacing her boots tightly.

"What does 'kind of' mean?" asked Alicia.

"Well, we were snogging and he was pushing it a bit and I pushed him away and said you want to have sex don't you? And he said no, why would I want to have sex with you? Don't be so vain! And then _I_ said well I don't want to have sex with you and even if we both did I would do it in a _broom cupboard_ an-"

"A broom cupboard?" interrupted Alicia "God, Katie, have some standards..."

Katie glared at her friend. "Well, the astronomy tower was kind of taken up by you and George."

"Oh." said Alicia sheepishly. "Ok. Sorry. Carry on."

"Well, then he said if he knocked me up he'd marry me, and I didn't know if I was like a joke, or a half joke so I was like ok! And-well that was in because Flitwick caught us and gave us detention."

Alicia blinked "O...k then. When was this?"

"Few weeks ago."

"Right. Look Katie," Alicia spoke through a mouthful of hairgrips. "I think that you and Fred need to actually have The Talk. Capital T. But for god's sake, be mature!"

"But how do I get over the annoyance thing?" demanded Katie.

"Oh, god I don't know, I'm not a relationship councillor." Alicia said impatiently, grabbing her broom. "Think of his good points. Come one, we need to get out there before Angelina freaks out."

"It's chucking it down out there." Katie said moodily. "We're going to drown. And Fred _has_ no good points."

Alicia sighed again. "None at all?" she asked sceptically.

"Well..." Katie pondered "he's a moron, but he can be pretty funny. Sometimes."

"And...?" Alicia prompted.

"He's a...brilliant kisser." She admitted reluctantly.

"Really?" Alicia sounded a little surprise and Katie glanced up interestedly.

"Why isn't George?"

"Hell, yes, George is a good kisser- I just didn't know if Fred would be too-"

"I just assumed they'd be good at the same things-"

"Yeah, I suppose. Wow...if you do decide to sleep with Fred you're in for a treat-"

"ALICIA!"

"What?" Alicia smiled innocently.

"Whore." Katie looked intrigued "Really?"

Alicia nodded smugly. Katie opened her mouth to say something but the door banged open and Angelina stomped in.

"You two. Stop talking and get out." She glowered. At one look at her face they complied and scurried out.

"What's up with you?" asked Katie when Fred grimaced with pain as he climbed onto his broom.

He gritted his teeth. "Fever Fudge." He told her quietly.

"Pardon?"

"We tested the fudge and now we have massive boils in a very uncomfortable place." He muttered. "No, not there!" he added hastily, catching sight of her expression.

"Oh, that sucks." said Katie, sympathetically creasing her forehead. "And now you have to ride a broom in the middle of a huge storm for no reason except that our captain has finally gone mad."

"I heard that." said Angelina.

"Good." Katie said under her breath.

Katie and Fred fought to keep their brooms steady next to each other and attempted to shelter behind a Quidditch post. Needless to say it wasn't working very well.

"Why the hell are we here?" yelled Katie at Angelina. "We're not doing anything useful; we're just trying not to fall off our brooms! Let us go, for the love of god!"

Angelina stuck her fingers up at Katie. "End of practise!" she hollered "But Bell I want you to score at least three goals first."

Katie screamed several explicit insults at Angelina and grabbed a quaffle and lobbed it towards the goals, missing by at least twenty feet. Angelina didn't notice Fred pull out his wand, but Katie did and she nodded gratefully as he magically put the ball through the hoops for her.

On the way back up Katie entwined her fingers through his and squeezed his hand in thanks.

"Shall we go to the common room?" said Fred grumpily, leaving Katie feeling slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to flaunt her new found maturity- although when she remembered the effects of the fever fudge she was quite relieved.

*

Her chance came a week later. While Fred scouted ahead to check that the Transfiguration classroom was clear she waited to one side talking to herself.

"Ok." She said "Be mature. Act grown up."

"Katie!" came a hiss.

Katie glanced behind her, then lifted the hem of her robes and dashed into the empty classroom.

"You know, I really miss that car." said Katie, sitting on a desk.

"Yeah, pity about the homicidal dog." Fred replied, closing the door.

_Be mature_ Katie reminded herself firmly. Fred leaned in, their lips met. She pulled him closer and he ran a hand up her leg.

_Be mature!_

She pushed him away. "Gotcha!"

Fred looked utterly nonplussed. "What?" he asked, although as he spoke he had a slight suspicion that he knew what was coming next.

"You want to have se-"

"Oh, god, Katie, _please_ don't start this up again, I'm sick to bloody death of it." groaned Fred, running a hand over his face. "I'm 17, you're my girlfriend and you're hot. I'm a _guy_. Of _course_ I want to have sex. The thing is, do _you_? Have you thought about it properly?"

She hesitated. "Well, I know you're going to get mad, but I was talking to Alicia-"

"Oh, great." said Fred "Now Angie knows, and probably George too."

"She won't tell them!" said Katie, defending Alicia, even though she knew that Angelina was probably kept very well informed on what was happening by Alicia. "Anyway, would you rather I told Leanne? It'd be round the school in half a minute! And Angelina's all stressed out because of...well, life, and Hazel's a whore who I hate, and Rachel's too busy hooking up with Richie Macmillan in the library- 'just friends' my arse- to care who I hook up with!"

She finished her rant, slightly breathless. Fred was regarding her with some amusement.

"You're crazy." He said fondly. "You get really worked up about things, don't you?"

She smiled, despite herself. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Fred smirked "So you could see us 'hooking up'- nice phrase there by the way."

Katie blushed "I've thought about it." She said indifferently. "Mostly with disgust."

Fred snorted "You keep telling yourself that, darling. You'll soon change your tune..."

"Let's hope so." Katie smiled angelically. "But before you try to persuade me, isn't there something you need to buy?"

**A/N I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. There's really no excuse, I've typed other stories up, so clearly I've had time and this chapter's been written for months, so I can't even claim writers block. I'm just a rubbish person. Sorry. =/ **


	14. Safety First

**Welcome to the house of fun/ Now Ive come of age/ Welcome to the lions den/ Temptations on his way/ Welcome to the house of fun**_- House of Fun: Madness_

Fred braced himself and pushed open the doors of a little shop in Dufftown. He'd decided against going into Hogsmeade- the woman there was a notorious gossip and he could do without the whole of Hogwarts, which would include Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall, knowing that Fred Weasley had been in Dufftown when he shouldn't be. Oh, and the nature of his purchases too of course.

He felt incredibly nervous. The girl on the counter looked over at the ting of the bell over the door and smiled politely. She was about twenty, and pretty. Fred groaned at the thought of putting down his... items in front of her.

He browsed the shelves. Paracetamol, cotton buds, 'feminine hygiene'- he skipped past that one quickly- hairspray next to, bafflinglingly chewing gum...in short everything but what he needed. He had a sinking feeling that he would have to actually ask the muggle girl, instead of showing her what he wanted, throwing down the muggle coins that he had 'borrowed' from the muggle born Thomas Whitely in his dormitory and getting out of there as quickly as possible.

Fred glanced up. Peering over a jumbo sized box of nappies in an attempt to be subtle, he tried to spot them. There was a whole display right in front of the girl, who was now eyeing him quizzically.

"Can I help you?" she called over.

"No, thanks." he said hastily, ducking down and wishing that Katie had gone instead. She had offered, but Fred insisted that he was perfectly capable of using a muggle shop and remaining inconspicuous. Katie had said that wasn't what she was worried about and he knew it.

The door opened again. Fred wondered if this was the time to make his escape and to go and find another shop where the staff weren't quite as pretty.

The new customer said something and Fred froze on his way to the door. He closed his eyes as he recognised the voice. Clearly things were not going his way today. Roger Davies, quidditch captain, playboy and general idiot, was sauntering up to the counter. He leaned over it smiling in what he obviously imagined what a seductive manner, although Fred was reminded of a crocodile.

To his incredulity, the girl blushed and giggled at whatever Davies had just whispered to her. He said something else, grabbing a small box. Davies paid with a flirtatious smile and a wink- Fred rolled his eyes- and turned.

Which was when he caught sight of Fred.

"Weasley!" he boomed "Is it Fred or George ? I can never tell the difference!"

Fred smiled weakly. "Fred." he said through gritted teeth. "Hey, Davies."

"So, what are you doing hiding behind a shelf?" Davies bellowed. "Spying on Jennifer?"

"Who?"

"My friend behind the counter." Fred wished that Davies would lower his voice a bit. "Or are you plucking up the courage to ask her out? Wouldn't bother mate- she's got a boyfriend!"

He laughed. Fred twitched his lips. "No, I'm still with Kate- Katie Bell." he said, his mind working frantically for a way to escape the hideousness that was this conversation. "I- er- came to get her some-" His hands reached out and seized a box. "Some- er- toothpaste."

"Oh, she's got you at her beck and call." Davies winked again, perhaps he had something in his eye. "Wuh-pah!"

Fred stared at him.

Davies chuckled slightly. "It's a whip Weasley- wuh-pah!"

"Oh. Right."

They fell into an awkward silence.

"Well, Weasley, I'm off- places to go, people to see, girls to snog- you know the drill." He clapped Fred on the shoulder and turned to strut off, but gaped in horror and ducked, grabbing Fred and pulling him down.

"What the-"

"Teachers!" hissed Davies urgently. "We're not even meant to be here, let alone buying what we- well I- have!"

Davies began to crawl, army style, across the floor. Fred crouched for a moment, cursing the day. He nearly fell over in shock when he heard the two voices- McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

"-And then he said that was sick of having to come up to Scotland everytime he wanted to see me and that it was time I retired anyway." Madam Pomfrey was saying.

McGonagall sighed "Men." she muttered. "That's why I was so glad when Dennis finally took off, in the last few years he was just a pain. What did you say?"

"I told him that if he felt that way then he should end it." Madam Pomfrey sniffed. "He said it was no wonder I'd never got married or had children. I said that working at Hogwarts provided me with more children that anyone could ever want or need. And then he stalked off- hi, there."

"Hello." he heard McGonagall say "Twenty camel lights please."

Fred smirked. McGonagall and Pomfrey came to Dufftown to buy cigarettes! That could potentially be useful...

"Mr. Weasley?"

He looked up. McGonagall was staring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same question, Professor" he said cheerily, holding up the toothpaste.

The two women exchanged glances. Madam Pomfrey shrugged. "As long as he's back at school before lessons on Monday who cares?"

"Poppy!" snapped McGonagall "Weasley this is unacceptable-"

"Does Dumbledore know that you smoke on campus, Professor?" he asked politely, though he had a feeling that he was pushing his luck.

She scowled "Be back before five." she said grudgingly, and she and Pomfrey left the shop. Fred sighed in relief.

"Weasley!" Davies said admiringly, popping up by his side "How the hell did you get out that? Wait until people hear-"

"No, don't tell anyone!" Fred blurted. The last thing he needed was everyone thinking he was whipped enough to go buying toothpaste for his girlfriend. No one would ever let him live it down. Especially Katie.

"Ok, ok, I won't." Davies winked _again_ and Fred repressed the urge to poke him in the eye to see if that would stop him from constantly winking it. "Your story after all. I'll see you round Weasley."

"Yeah." Fred rubbed a hand over his eyes, then made his way to the counter. He looked at the display and grabbed the best looking box and threw them on the counter, along with the money that he'd taken from Whitely.

"Er, that's not enough, sir." Jennifer said. "You need another two pounds."

Another two what? He couldn't be bothered with this, muggle money was too difficult to bother with after his actually quite stressful morning, so he shrugged. "I'll leave the toothpaste, can I afford it then?"

The girl nodded with a slight smirk. Fred pushed the coins towards her.

"Would you like a bag?"

"Please." He grabbed the bag and started to walk off.

"Wait, your change-"

"Keep it." he said hastily and got out of there.

*

"How was it?" asked Katie when Fred clambered into the common room.

"Well, put it this way." said Fred, sinking into a seat. "Next time, either you go, or we just go ahead and risk getting you pregnant."


	15. Sport

The atmostphere was simultaneously excited and terrified. Katie and Fred were excited. Angelina was scared.

"If we lose everyone is going to know that I'm a bad captain." she fretted on the way down to the pitch.

"Ange, stop it. You are NOT a bad captain, and if we lose...well, we're not going to." Katie reassured her.

"But you lot are always moaning about me."

"That's because you make us practise in the middle of storms when we have boils on our ...bodies." Fred pointed out. "What do you expect, hugs and kisses?"

"Shut up Fred. It's not because you're bad, it's because you're driven Angie." Katie told her. "We'll be fine. We always are, aren't we?"

"Yeah, well..." Angelina looked behind her. "I'm really worried about Ron. He looks likes crap, have you seen him?" Both shook their heads. Angelina sighed. "I mean, I know that the first match is always the worst, but he looks like he'd rather...I don't know..."

"Take a bath in beans?" suggested Katie. Fred snorted.

"Beans?" he siad quizzically "Why not something disgusting like snot?"

Katie gave him a look. "That's gross." she informed him. "And extremely childish. You revolt me."

"I revolt you?" smirked Fred. "That's funny...you weren't so revolted last night..."

"_Could you two PLEASE concentrate on the match!" _Angelina snarled. "And get your heads out of Fred-and-Katie land and in the game! I have to win this!"

"Ok, ok!" Katie put her hands up looking slightly alarmed. "We're focused, honest."

Angelina made a sceptical noise and marched, leaving Fred and Katie to exchange a look.

***

"And it's Johnson- Johnson with the quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me-"

"JORDAN!"

Fred grinned to himself- Lee's not-entirely-jokey persuit of Angelina had given him and George plenty of laughs. Lee was a player too, no wonder Angelina refused to go out with him.

"-and the crowd are loving this to, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

Fred hit a bludger away from Katie and winked at her, but Katie didn't smile, just put her hand behind her ear and yelled "Listen!"

_**Weasley was born in a bin**_

_**He always lets the Quaffle in**_

_**Weasley will make sure we win**_

_**Weasley is our King**_

Fred swore angrily and hit a nearby bludger with even more force than usual; it soared towards Crabbe and nearly unseated him. Crabbe tried to hit it back, but missed dismally and Fred stuck his fingers up at him. Fred might be horrible to Ron, but he was his older brother- no one else was allowed to. He felt an unusual surge of protective fury for Ron.

The yells from the crowd were what alerted him. He turned his broom with dangerous speed and squinted as Harry and Malfoy dove.

"Come on Harry!" he heard himself roar and the seeker reached out and grabbed the snitch. That was it.

They had won!

With a yell he directed his broom towards the ground. Katie, still on her broom, slammed into him afor a hug, then leapt off and dashed over to Harry to throw her arms around him.

Fred seized one of Harry's hands and starting shaking it. He suddenly became aware of Malfoy's snide voice.

"-for his father, you know-"

He froze, then turned around, a red haze beginning to decend on his vision. He ignored Angelina's warning hand on his arm and began to make his way forward to hit Malfoy as hard as he possible could with the beater's bat still in his hand.

Alicia grabbed his other arm and tried to force him to drop the bat. Katie stood i front of him and pushed hard against his chest, almost with desperation "Come on Fred, he's not worth it!" she yelled, but he ignored her.

The three girls tugged at him, Katie tried to force him back. "Jesus Fred" said Katie, "I didn't know you were this strong, why don't you put this strength towards something else?"

"-and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it-"

"Fred!" Katie grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her "Don't be so bloody stupid!"

Before he could respond Harry and George were blasted back and Madam Hooch was bawling at them.

As the two of them marched off furiously, Angelina and Alicia let go of Fred who still looked murderous. Katie still clung onto Fred. She didn't let go, even when Malfoy was lead away, even when the Slytherin team followed him, even when the crowds dispersed and Alicia and Angelina left.

"I want to _kill_ him." he said through clenched teeth at last, but the intense anger was seeping out of him. Katie moved one hand to the bat, but unclenched her fist into a flat plam on his chest.

"Fred, give the bat." she said firmly. "Give me the bat and we'll go to the common room. I mean, we won! We need to celebrate!"

Fred handed it to her, saying nothing. She took his hand and lead him back up to the castle.

But there was no party. The rest of the team, except for Ron, had taken over the seats by the fire.

"What happened?" asked Katie, looking from George, to Angelina, to Alicia, who averted her gaze.

"Banned." said George shortly. "Me, Harry and you, Fred."

Katie looked horrified. "But...Fred didn't even do anything! How can McGon-"

"Not McGonagall." interupted Alicia, who was looking anxiously at George who was using his wand to burn a hole in the couch. "Umbridge."

Fred clenched his fists and threw himself onto the sofa next to his twin. Katie also sank into a seat. "How long for?" she said, though she knew what the answer would be.

"Life." spat George.

The rest of the evening was passed in a haze of misery. When Katie tried to say goodnight to Fred, all she got was a grunt. The injustice of it all stung and she wanted to yell at him that it wasn't _her_ fault, but she merely began to make her way up to bed. As she got into her bed she supposed that judging from Fred's reaction to the match, there was no way he would be accompanying her any time soon.

**A/N I know it's short, but more on the way soon! Please review and let me know what you thought! =]**


	16. Rejection

You're yes then you're no /You're in and you're out/You're up and you're down /You're wrong when it's right/It's black and it's white/We fight, we break up /We kiss, we make up_- Hot'n'cold: Katy Perry_

Fred and George both marched around in a terrible mood for the next few days. George and Alicia had their first big row and didn't speak to each other for a week.

Katie, for once, was being the most patient. She had an idea that Fred would eventually get bored of being angry, based on the fact that she and him were both hot tempered, but it tended to be over and done with fairly quickly.

Once his bad mood began to abate, Katie decided to have a bit of fun, and finally, finally, _finally _get around to…taking the next step forward.

Fred was slouched in a chair in the common room. Taking a deep breath, she sidled over to him and sat on the arm of the chair.

"What's up?" she said softly, placing her arm around his shoulders. Her hand cupped his neck and she leaned down and dropped a kiss on his temple.

He looked up, leaned up and kissed her hard on the lips.

"If only there was somewhere else we could go…" whispered Katie with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah, somewhere where we wouldn't get interrupted like the broom cupboard…"

They looked at each other.

"Room of requirement?" they said simultaneously, and leapt up and dashed out, pushing past Lee and George who were coming through the portrait.

"Where's the fire?" Lee called after them.

But they were gone.

*

"What do we ask for then?" asked Katie in a whisper as the stood outside the tapestry. "We need a place to …snog?"

Fred shrugged "What else?"

They walked past three times. The door appeared and Fred pulled the handle. Slowly he pushed it open and stepped in.

The room was fairly small and cosy with white walls and a double bed. Katie suddenly felt extremely nervous and found that she couldn't swallow properly.

Fred, on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected at all. He let go of Katie's hand and made his way over to the sofa that Katie, preoccupied with the bed, hadn't seen.

"Come on." he patted the sofa and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Katie sat down and she felt herself tensing up, but as soon as Fred's mouth found hers she relaxed. Enough at least after a while to whisper n his ear "Do you want to move over to the bed?"

The second it was out of her mouth she felt her cheeks begin to burn at the stupidity of her words. She closed her eyes as Fred kissed the tip of her nose, then moved. She opened her eyes again.

Fred had pulled right back and was looking at her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and wrapped her fingers in his hair. She kissed him on the lips, then his jaw line, then his neck.

Fred hesitated.

"What?" said Katie.

"I know why you're doing this." he said softly.

Now she drew back; cocked her head. "Oh, yes?"

"You're just trying to make me feel better about Quidditch." Fred told her uncomfortably. "And I don't want you to do that, I think…I think that it should be in your own time."

She gaped at him. "Fred you can be so arrogant. She snapped. "You stupid, stupid idiot, deflate your head a bit. I'm not doing this just for _you_; I'm doing this because I thought we were ready for it-"

He looked unconvinced, which angered her more. "God Fred, did you really think I was doing this just to cheer you up?"

"Yeah, actually! Look, Katie, I've been in a mood all week and suddenly you decide you want to sleep with me. What conclusion would you draw?"

"Not- not this _pity sex_!" shot back Katie.

"Oh, sorry for being a nice guy and not taking advantage!"

"There's no advantage to take!"

"Oh, well I'm _sorry_, Katie," yelled Fred "I'm sorry that I can't read you're bloody mind and I'm sorry I can't tell what you're feeling and what you you're thinking and what your motives are-"

"You think I expect that?" she said at the top of her voice. "I don't expect you to be a mind reader, don't apologise. If you're going to say sorry, why don't you say sorry for being so flakey!"

"Flakey? _Flakey? _What do you _mean_ flakey?"

"Oh, I don't know- 'Kate I love you' 'I hate you!' 'Lets have sex!' 'No lets not!'" Katie marched to the door. "Stop going hot and cold on me Fred I'm sick of it. Just make up your bloody mind!"

**A/N Another very short chapter =/ hopefully next one will be up asap to make up for it! They get longer honest XD Please review!**


	17. Do Not Disturb

_**All that it takes, one more chance/Don't let our last kiss be our last/ Give me tonight and i'll show you./ I know everything changes, i dont care where it takes us/ Cause i know how i feel about you./ Can we bring yesterday back around?/ Cause i know how i feel about you now./ I was dumb, i was wrong, i let you down./ But i know how i feel about you now**- About you now: Sugababes  
_

Nobody could fail to miss the frosty silence between Fred and Katie the next morning. Wisely, most decided not to acknowledge it, and the one person who tried to talk to Katie about it (Leanne) nearly got her head bitten off. Katie may have been angry, but Fred wasn't. He was thinking seriously, only the second time he'd done this- the first being when he bought the shop- and Katie was far more important that the shop.  
If he was being honest he didn't really need to think. He knew how things had to go.

"Katie, can I talk to you?" Fred whispered in the DA meeting that night.

"What about?" she said obnoxiously.

"Homework. What do you think?" snapped Fred. He d raised his voice, and Harry paused in what he was saying about the jelly legs jinx. Everyone turned.

"Sorry." said Fred, with a slight grin. He hadn t meant to speak so loudly, but at least Katie wasn t being moody anymore. Mainly because she had burst into a fit of giggles.

"Glad my embarrassment is so amusing to you." he said drily in her ear. His breath on her neck made her skin tingle. She caught her breath.

"Come off it." she scoffed. "You never get embarrassed."

"I do." He lowered his voice even more. "I do when I think about what a moron I was last night."

She glanced up at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Neatly done Fred." she smirked. "I forgive you."

"I still want to talk to you though." he said as the group separated to practise the jinx.

*

"Stay here." Fred instructed her. He went quiet and walked past the room three times. "We don t want to talk in the DA room."

"No." agreed Katie "All those mirrors with the shadow weird me out." The door reappeared and Fred opened it. Katie stepped inside, curious to see what he'd asked for.

She felt slightly disappointed that there was no bed, then chastened herself. Who was she, Hazel?

Fred turned the lock. "Don't want to be disturbed." he said, almost apologetically. He cleared his throat and went and sat down on the sofa. Katie wasn't joining him. Ok, that wasn't good.

"Ok." He knew he sounded nervous, and hoped this would make her have pity on him. "Katie, I m really sorry about last night. I was still mad about quidditch and I shouldn t have shouted and I should ve know that you were too selfish to do something just for me-"

The smug look that Katie had worn all through his apology slipped off and she rushed at him. She grabbed a pillow fro the sofa and proceded to beat him up with it.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Fred was laughing, but secretly he was pleased that it had worked and she hadn t got angry and stormed off. Katie carried on hitting with him, but he grabbed her wrists and tried to stop her, pulling her close to his chest.

"I'm joking." He repeated softly, loosening his grip on her wrists.

"Git." Katie said. She was breathing heavily.

Something changed in the air.

They looked at each other for a split second, then moved at the same time, crashing their lips together, trying to get at close as physically possible. And this time when Katie suggested that they moved to the bed that had mysteriously appeared, Fred didn't pull back.

**A/N Gah, this is stupidly short. Sorry. Er, there may be some mistakes w/ speechmarks or spaces between paras or general rubbishness because I had to save it on something that wasn't word and it didn't like punctuation. The writing I'm afraid is all mine.**

**I've apologised- can you find it in your heart to review? :-D**


	18. No Time

_**You can hold me once, You can hold me twice/ even better if the stars are good tonight/You can hold me, be my one and only/this is the reply to the letter you sent me- **Hold me twice: FM Static_

Fred and Katie were in one of their ridiculously happy moods again. They spent hours together, just laughing and talking...and kissing.

"I have never known a more up and down couple." Alicia said to Angelina.

Christmas was drawing nearer and Fred was surprised to realise that this meant they were nearing their one year anniversary. As they sneaked back in from the Room of Requirement one night, however, they were met by a harassed looking Professor McGonagall and George and Ginny, who were sleepy and suppressing yawns.

"Mr Weasley! Miss Bell, where have you been? I've been looking for you! Mr Weasley you've got to follow me to the headmaster's office, now."

"What? Why?" Fred tightened his grip on Katie's hand, worriedly.

"No time to explain." said McGonagall tensely. "Just follow."

She swept out of the common room.

"What was all that about?" asked Katie staring after McGonagall.

"Dunno." Fred gave Katie a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Katie watched him go, then slowly went up to bed. She tossed and turned all night, and woke up unnaturally early. The next day she couldn't see any of the Weasleys, let alone Fred, and Harry Potter had disappeared too.

Something was wrong. But what?

*

There was a letter waiting at her house when she got home. She ripped it open instantly, hoping that nothing terrible had happened.

_Dear Katie,_

_Sorry about that. I don't think I'm meant to tell you the details, but M might have told you anyway- whatever. Dad got injured and had to go to the hospital. It was touch and go for a while, but he's ok now. _

_I didn't let you know before because I didn't dare send this to school- apparently Umbridge is frisking the owls..._

_Anyway do you think we could meet up in the holidays? I still have your present, and I don't want to have spent 3 whole galleons in it if you're not even going to see it. I was going to attach it to this letter, but I didn't want it to fall off. _

_Fred xx_

_P.S Did she say anything about us trying (and failing) to sneak in? Any other night and we would have been roasted to death._

_**Dear Fred,**_

_**No, she didn't say anything. Surprising actually, because she's all pissed off at me because I'm failing Transfiguration at the minute. Never mind. **_

_**I'm glad your Dad is ok. How's he doing? Is he at St. Mungos?**_

_**I can't believe she's feeling up all the owls! You know that's illegal, apart from being morally wrong. I don't think Fudge would be too pleased if he knew his precious high inquisitor is having sexual relations with animals...ew. Why did I even think that? Sorry. **_

_**I have to go. My siblings and their various other halves are coming round for a meal. Wahey.**_

_**Love Katie xxx**_

_Kate-_

_Just a quick note because I haven't got much time, but we're visiting Dad on Christmas day, so do you think you'd be able to sneak out and see me? Don't worry if you can't and let's hope this owl isn't intercepted because that could cause a problem if a bunch of people we don't want to see turn up, and Mum would kill me._

_Fred xx_

_**Dear Fred,**_

_**No time, no time, no time, it's all I bloody feel like at the minute. I thought holidays were meant to be relaxing? But NOO I have a ton of homework (THANKS McGonagall) and family to visit. Gahhh. **_

_**But we're in luck. Phoebe's boyfriend's sister or someone has just had a baby at St. Mungos and they're going to visit. So I can tag along too. I'll see you soon!**_

_**Katie xxx**_

*

"Well this is romantic."

They were sitting in the hospital cafe, sharing a hot chocolate, squashed in one hard plastic seat. Fred kissed her shoulder, then grimaced as he got a mouth full of fluff from her scarf.

"Yeah, there's no romance here." He wrinkled his nose, and Katie laughed.

"How's your holiday been?" he asked, then wished he hadn't.

"Disaster zone." She announced dramatically. "I've not stopped working except when I've been dragged downstairs to spend time with either one of my parents- not fun- and a load of couples, who all think I'm single and feel sorry for me, being the obvious loner singleton that I am, so I keep getting the 'wait for someone special' speech."

"Well, you don't get more special than me." Fred said cheerfully.

"Is that what Mummy tells you?" Katie muttered.

"So, you still haven't told them you've got a boyfriend?" said Fred in a would be casual voice.

"Well...it hasn't really come up."

"You just said everyone has been talking about boyfriends with you."

"I always exaggerate."

"Katie."

"Ok, no, I haven't!" she burst out. "Look, my sisters all managed to get crap boyfriends and my Dad has always been really protective of me- like I need it- and I just can't be bothered to deal with him." There was a pause, and then she said in a small voice "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad." He said untruthfully.

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"You guys are so mature." George drawled, sliding into a seat opposite. "Your sister's here Katie."

"Oh damn." Katie glanced at her watch. "Ok. Thanks for keeping watch George. I'll see you both at school I suppose."

"Yeah, see you." George pointedly looked away as she bent and kissed his twin, feeling him slip something in her pocket.

"Happy Christmas Katie." He whispered. "I'll see you at school."

As he watched her walk away he couldn't wait until he could see her again.

**A/N I'm sorry, I totally cannot remember if I replied to my reviews for the last chapter! If I didn't, sorry, but they were very very much appreciated =] **


	19. Keeping a secret

_**You're hiding something, 'cause it's burning through your eyes/ I try to get it out, but all I hear from you are lies/ And I can tell you're going through the motions/ I figured you were acting out your part / Once again, we're playing off emotion/ Which one of us will burn until the** **end?- **All downhill from here: New Found Glory_

Towards the end of January Fred became aware that Katie was keeping something from him. He wasn't sure what, and didn't know how serious it was, he could just sense something unspoken between them. She became moody; quiet and withdrawn.

"Ok, Katie." said Fred one lunch time, losing patience with her. "What is it?"

"Nothing!" she protested "I'm fine."

"Fine?" snapped Fred "For gods sake, Kate, talk to me!"

There was a pause, and then she said quietly "It's not the right time..."

"The right time...it's never the bloody right time with you."

Katie scowled and jumped to her feet, suddenly losing her temper. "Trust me Fred, this isn't the right time!"

She stormed off and Fred watched her go resentfully.

"You're losing her mate." said Lee. Fred glared at his friends.

"Do you all get some kick watching me and Katie argue or something?" he said loudly "Every time we have a row one of you seems to be there."

"We go to a boarding school." Angelina pointed out "You're hardly going to get any privacy here."

Fred exhaled sharply in annoyance and stabbed his potato and ate it in one bite. When he looked up four faces were looking at him.

"What?" he said through a mouthful.

"Well aren't you going to go after her?" asked Alicia, her eyebrows raised.

"Go-?"

"It's not a request Fred." Angelina said firmly. "God, you're so useless."

"Aren't you glad we're here?" George called after Fred as he followed Katie from the hall. Fred stuck his fingers up.

Fred muttered angrily to himself as he wandered around looking for Katie. Eventually he found her on a bench outside the History of Magic classroom.

"Katie, you're going to tell me what's up." He said bluntly, sitting next to her.

Katie looked up and down the corridor. It was empty. "Fred," she said nervously, her heart thumping madly. "I'm late."

"Late for what? It's lunchtime!"

"No, Fred-"

"Forget it." He said flatly, standing up. "I can't make you talk to me-"

"No Fred!" She seized his hand. "I'm _late._"

The way she said it made it sound significant somehow, but Fred was just bemused.

"For my- my period." She whispered, cringing.

Fred took a step back. He held his hand out to keep his distance, and seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Fred..."

"You might be _pregnant?_" he choked out.

Katie shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't done a test-"

"Why the hell not?" he demanded

"Where am I supposed to get one from?" she retorted.

"Pomfrey?" The bell rang, making them both jump.

Katie bit her lip. "I'm too scared."

"Oh, Katie." He pulled her into a hug. "Don't be. It'll be ok."

"How do you know?" she mumbled into his chest, but now students were filling the corridor, and she couldn't hear his whispered reply."I have to go to Herbology." She said thickly. "I can't skive again. I'll see you later."

"Ka-" he began but she had slipped under his arms and disappeared amongst the students.

*

"So," said Lee as Fred slipped into his seat in Defence against the Dark Arts. "Everything ok between you and Katie-Kate again?"

"Oh...yeah." lied Fred, but his eyes flickered briefly to his twin. Lee leaned back in his seat as Umbridge came in, and Fred opened his book, barely aware of what he was doing.

A baby. Katie might be having a _baby_.

"You looked freaked out." George muttered.

"No talking Mr. Weasley!" singsonged Umbridge.

George scowled and scrawled on a piece of paper _what's up?_

Without looking at the parchment or his twin Fred scribbled _Katie might be...you know._

George frowned and Fred wrote, in the tiniest legible writing possible, _pregnant._

His twin's eyes widened and he read the word and bit his lip.

_OH MY GOD._

_I know._

_Mum is going to kill you._

_I know._

_What are you going to do?_

"Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley!" Umbridge was standing over them, smiling sweetly. "Do my instructions state that you need to take notes?"

George looked up at her and grimaced politely. "Oh, sorry Professor. I'll just get rid of this shall I?"

"Oh no, I'll take it." Umbridge reached out for to grab the piece of paper, but it burst into flames. George dropped the burning parchment onto the desk. By this time the whole class was staring at Fred who was holding his wand aloft. Umbridge glared at the ashes, then at Fred, who met her gaze with raised eyebrows.

"Detention Mr Weasley." She snapped "Tonight."

*

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" demanded Katie.

"Detention with Umbridge." muttered Fred, waving his bleeding hand in front of her face. She grabbed it and read his latest tattoo: _I must not pass notes._

"You told George." She accused, dropping his hand.

"He's my twin, he knew that something was wrong anyway." Fred said, defending himself. "You've probably told Leanne or Alicia."

"I haven't told anyone actually." She denied. Fred scoffed and her eyes flashed.

"Besides," she argued "It's different. _I'm_ the one whose possibly carrying a child. _I'm_ the one who's not even legally an adult. _I'm_ the one who'll get fat and have people pointing and laughing. _I'm_ the one that'll be grossly scarred and stretched and _I'm_ the one who has to somehow push a _person_ out-" Her voice was getting more and more high pitched and hysterical.

"Whoa, whoa, Kate, whoa." Fred was holding her close, stroking her hair. "Calm down, you're freaking out."

"Oh, I wonder why." She said sarcastically.

"It's ok." He said soothingly "It's ok, don't worry."

"I've ruined my life!" wailed Katie. "And you'll just fall in love with someone else and-"

"Glad to see you think so highly of me." said Fred drily. "Now, have you finished?"

"Not even started." She replied, but she sounded calmer.

"Now, first of all you need to do a test." He pointed out. "You're hysterical about something you don't even know is going to happen."

Katie glared at him. "Fine. What do you propose we do?"

*

"Fred?"

"Mmmm?"

"Why are we breaking into the hospital wing?"

"Do _you_ want to go in and ask her for a pregnancy test?" he asked "No? Didn't think so- it was bad enough when I saw her in the chemists. Now shut up and keep an eye out."

Katie leaned against the wall, trying to appear casual. Within ten minutes Fred had grabbed a test and the pair of them were dashing back to the room of requirement.

"Gimme that." Katie snatched the small box off Fred and disappeared into the bathroom that she had asked for.

She emerged, gingerly holding the stick, looking nauseous with fear. They both stared at it for a few seconds, then Fred cleared his throat.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"If it is- you know- positive, I'll stick by you, you know that right?"

Her eyes softened. "I know." She said quietly.

"It could be ok...our parents will help-"

Katie snorted "Mine will be thrilled. A second teenage pregnancy in the family. How wonderful."

"Well, I'll have money from the shop." He offered "We can get help for you to finish your NEWTs and whatever." He shrugged embarrassedly. "It's not the end of the world if you are pregnant."

"If I wasn't holding this test I'd kiss you, you know that right?" she smiled bravely. "This could be- fun."

"Well, in a few seconds we'll find out." He swallowed.

20-19-18. The seconds ticked by, slower and slower. 5—4—3--

"Here we go." Katie took a deep breath. "This is it."

They looked at each other. Fred winked and she tried to smile back.

Katie looked down.

**A/N Merry Christmas!**


	20. Misfortune

_**Drop a heart, break a name/ We're always sleeping in, and sleeping for the wrong team/ We're going down, down in an earlier round/ And Sugar, we're going down swinging/ I'll be your number one with a bullet/ A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it-** Sugar, we're going down swinging: Fall Out Boy_

Katie stared at the stick, not quite able to focus on it. She blinked and looked at it blankly.

"What? What!" Fred asked urgently "Katie, what-"

She still didn't look up at him. There was a spilt second delayed reaction, then she screamed.

"What?" yelled Fred "What is it? What does it say?"

"I'm ok!"

"What?"

"I'm not pregnant!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"You bloody drama queen!" he shouted "You had me terrified!"

Katie threw the pregnancy test to one side and grabbed his hands. They began to whirl around. She pulled him close for a kiss, but he pushed her away, laughing.

"Oh no you don't." He said mock-sternly "That's what got us into trouble in the first place. And please, can't you wash your hands?"

*

The relief carried them on a high for a few days, but before long Fred was feeling restless. He couldn't concentrate on anything, not even DA meetings. Katie, sensing his mood, tried to cheer him up and although she managed to do this temporarily, he still kept sinking into his impatient moods. She tried to obtain permission for them to spend a night in Hogsmeade over Easter, hoping that a change of scenery might make him relax a bit more, but McGonagall told Katie angrily that she no longer had the authority to give permission for this privilege sometimes offered to older students.

So both were dejected when they turned up to the last DA meeting before Easter. However, when they learned that they would be learning the Patronus Charm Fred cheered up and Katie got slightly over excited.

"Look!" she squeaked "I'm a dolphin!"

"A dolphin?" repeated Fred "What the hell kind of a patronus is _that?_"

"An awesome one- it's just like me!" replied Katie defensively.

"How do you work that one out?" he snorted, grinning.

"Intelligent, beautiful, fun...er...good swimmers...I'm all of those things!"

"Yeah, fun is right." said Fred, looking pointedly at her recently-dyed-purple fringe.

"Well, what's yours?" she asked "Oh. A monkey. Figures. Hey, do you think that we can make them fight?"

"Dunno, but let's find out!" Fred directed his wand and his monkey followed. For a moment or two they watched their patronuses expectantly, then Katie sighed.

"Well, that's just boring. Ours just play." She sounded disappointed. Fred laughed, but then realised that everyone had gone quiet.

"Is she coming?" Harry was asking a terrified looking elf, who stamped his feet and cried "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry roared at them "RUN!"

Fred seized Katie's hand and the pair of them dashed for the exit. They clutched onto each other in the crush of people, and then, as they were forced out of the door, they ran left and around the corner.

They sprinted down the empty corridor, but then they heard the sound of Umbridge talking to someone. They ground to a halt in horror.

"In here." hissed Fred, yanking open a door and dragging Katie inside it. It was a tiny store cupboard, filled with a baffling amount of mops and one bucket, which Fred had one foot in.

"I'm sick of this." Fred muttered savagely. "I think my days in hiding in cupboards are coming to an end-"

"Shh!"

Breathlessly, they waited, hoping that she would walk right past this insignificant door. Katie slowly pulled her wand out, desperate not to make any noise and whispered the charm to lock the door. She closed her eyes as the door handle rattled.

"We're screwed." Fred breathed. "We're going to be kicked out."

She frowned. He didn't sound concerned enough for her.

"Not quite." She hissed, and pushed him against the wall and kissed him as hard as she could. It was an odd kiss. Fred was trying to put as much feeling in as he could, thinking that this might be one of the last few times that they would do this. Katie was just desperate not to be expelled.

The door was wrenched open, Umbridge glowering at them.

"Out." She told them, her voice quivering with triumph. "Detention, both of you."

Katie disentangled herself from Fred. Silently, but with a slight smirk, she left the cupboard, tightly holding Fred's hand.

"I hope everyone else got away." said Katie, once they had met up in the common room. George and Alicia, who had basically had the same idea as Katie but had been caught in a much more compromising condition in the girl's toilets by Parkinson, had argued on the way back and were sitting opposite from each other, glaring.

"Umbridge caught us." Katie continued.

"We got caught by that lump Crabbe in Harry's year." said Lee. "It's embarrassing, really. Us two and the Creevey brothers tried to cram under some desks in the library while Madam Pince was busy with some overdues."

"Why were you under a desk?" Alicia asked. Lee shrugged.

"Panicked." He said easily "We would have been ok, but then Ange got the giggles." He stared accusingly at her.

"Oh well." She said comfortably "We've only got a few months left, who cares if they expel us now?"

"Sounds good to us." The twins said at the same time.

"Er...I care." Katie said, raising her hand "I've still got a whole year left here."

"And I kind of need to sit my exams to become a healer." put in Alicia.

"Ok, ok, chill out," said Angelina, half laughing "I was only joking. My Mum would murder me if I got kicked out."

The twins exchanged glances. They knew what the other was thinking. Angelina might have been joking...

...but the twins were deadly serious.

**A/N I know it may have seemed a bit rapid in between the whole pregnancy thing and the end of the DA with no impact on them, but it WILL be dealt with. It has had an effect...but come on it's Fred and Katie. =] Thanks for all the reviews, they made my christmas! Well...once I actually got back onto the internet...**


	21. Mischief Managed

**You think you're right/But you were wrong/You tried to take me/But I knew all along/You can take me/For a ride/I'm not a fool out/So you better run and hide/I'm trouble/Yeah trouble now/I'm trouble ya'll/I got trouble in my town/I'm trouble/Yeah trouble now/I'm trouble ya'll/I got trouble in my town**_- Trouble: Pink_

"Katie, I'm leaving."

Fred had decided that it was best just to tell Katie straight out that he and George were leaving Hogwarts. He had also purchased a huge bar of her favourite Muggle chocolate.

She gaped at him. "What? Why?"

"Because we don't need NEWTs. Because we can't stand another minute living under Umbridge. Because there's nothing worth staying here, except for you." He said bluntly.

"And clearly I'm not worth that much."

Fred handed the chocolate over.

"Come on Kate, it's a chance for us to get back at Umbridge, as well as finally getting started on the joke shop-"

"It's, like, three months until school year ends though! Can't you wait?" she pleaded.

He shook his head firmly.

"You can't go!" she snapped "I won't let you!"

Fred raised his eyebrows "You won't _let _me? Look, Katie, I know this has been a shock, but a few months ago I thought I was going to be a dad, and it just made me realise that I've outgrown Hogwarts."

"Is that what started this off?"

"Yeah." He said honestly "And then after Umbridge found out about the DA- well there's nothing here for me and George. We don't belong here anymore. We belong out _there_."

"You belong _'out there'?_" she sneered "Well, good luck with that. Let me know how it works out."

"Katie-" He grabbed her hand "I know you're mad, and you don't want me to leave, but George and I are going and nothing you do is going to stop that!"

He dropped her hand and marched off. He had expected a violent outburst- it _was_ Katie after all- but he had also been hoping that she would be more supportive. He made his way moodily down to the lake, reflecting on her reaction and wondering how Alicia had reacted.

He reached there and threw himself on the ground, gazing out over the water, remembering the time when he and Katie had swam in it. They'd been diving down and he'd got his foot stuck under a rock. Katie had set him free. She helped him. She always did. She was moody and irresponsible a lot of the time but he still needed her.

"Fred?"

He turned his head, and Katie was there, looking apprehensive. "Can I sit down?" she asked.

"If you really want. It's a free country. You can do what you like." He couldn't resist adding under his breath "Apparently."

"Oh, god, Fred, I'm sorry about before." Katie burst out, dropping to the ground. "It was really unfair of me, you've been planning this since you were about five and I should have been supportive, and it's not like you're going to be here next year anyway. I need to get used to it..." she paused to take a deep breath.

"Do you mean that?" asked Fred "Or are you just trying to be nice?"

Katie looked offended "Yes, I bloody well mean that! When do I ever bother to pretend to be nice?"

"Good point." They looked at each other for a split second, and then relaxed.

"I just saw Alicia and George." Katie offered. "Alicia was crying and George was just being useless."

Fred smiled. "He always was the more useless of us."

Katie raised her eyebrows "I don't know. He managed to ask Alicia out quite successfully- better than _you_ asked me. In fact, you didn't even ask me."

"Katie, shut up." He grinned and leaned in to kiss her.

*

"So-" said Umbridge. "You think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah." Fred was looking up at Umbridge, but his eyes slid across to Katie, who stumbled as she was eagerly pushed to the side by Filch, who handed Umbridge a piece of parchment.

"You two," Umbridge said with sadistic glee "are about to learn what happens to wrong doers in _my_ school."

Fred caught Katie's eye. She winked. It was like a signal to him, and he turned to George "You know what? I don't think we are. George, I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself."

Katie readied her wand. She could see a member of the inquisitorial squad prepared to start forward, and he was close enough to grab Fred.

There was a spectacular crash, and she ducked as the brooms flew over her head, skidding to an abrupt halt in front of the twins.

"We won't be seeing you."

"Yeah, don't bother keeping in touch."

The twins could hardly keep the grins off their faces as they mounted their brooms and prepared to kick off.

"Of anyone fancies buying a portable swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to 93, Diagon Alley- Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, our new premises!"

Katie pointed her wand at the hulking boy who was going to grab Fred. Any second now, they were going to make their triumphant exit, and no one was going to ruin it for them. She knew that Angelina, Lee and Alicia, all in different places in the crowd would also be ready to jinx, hex or curse anyone who tried to stop the twins leaving- even though Fred and George had forbidden them too arguing that it would get them into pointless trouble.

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat." George grinned.

"STOP THEM!"

As Umbridge screamed, Katie whispered "Impedimentia!" The boy was slowed right down and the twins shot up into the air. As they flew off she blew Fred a kiss, and joined in with the cheers, pointing her wand into the air and sending out sparks, even though she knew she'd get into trouble for it later. It was the twins' greatest moment in a seven year career. Even Alicia was whooping.


	22. Abandoned

_**Hey, maybe I'm a critic, a cynic/ Or am I jaded? Or am I afraid of it? /Cause It's dragging me down, it's bumming me out/ It's making my head spin round and round/ ... /I get the feeling, we're on to something/ I say "jump" and you start jumping/ Can you say "Hey"? Can you say "Oh"? That's that, now what do you want from me?**- What do you want from me?: Forever the Sickest Kids_

As the summer term wore on, however, all Katie felt was abandoned. She _missed_ Fred, more than she had ever thought she would. The little things stung, like when she felt fed up and wanted a hug and he gave the best ones, or when she couldn't be bothered to do her homework and he did it for her.

But the big things were infinitely worse. At the Quidditch cup celebrations she didn't enjoy the party properly. Half heartedly she joined in the party- more for Angelina's sake than anything- but made her excuses and went to bed early. She knew that her friends were beginning to get annoyed with her miserable mood, but she couldn't quite shake it off.

Fred wrote a couple of times, but he was busier than either of them had expected. He tried to write longer letters to make up for it, but increasingly found himself scrawling half a page far too late at night, hoping that it would make the morning post. Katie knew that he was under a lot of pressure, but it still aggravated her.

"You would think," she ranted to Leanne "that he would at least make an attempt to stay in touch with me, wouldn't you?"

"Well, maybe he's busy." Leanne suggested absently, trying to concentrate on an essay. "With the shop, or, I don't know, just adjusting to adult life. Apparently there's much more to do once you get out of school."

"Or maybe he's just an idiot who can't be bothered to write a few letters."

Leanne dropped her quill and rubbed a hand over her face tiredly. "Oh, I don't bloody know Katie." she said tiredly "What's wrong with you? I didn't think you were the type to get all clingy."

"I'm not clingy." replied Katie, affronted.

"Yes, you are." Leanne picked up her quill again "Look, Katie, I love you and everything, but I'm kind of tired of having this conversation over and over. You need to get used to being apart from him- you've still got the whole of next year to go yet! And long distance relationships are hard enough as it is-"

"Are you saying that it won't work?" Katie demanded. Leanne rolled her eyes, and Katie leaned back in her chair "Do you think I should end it?"

"What? Where-look, Katie, I'm not saying anything." Leanne held her hands up "This is your crap, you deal with it. It's up to you. Just...try and cheer up a bit, yeah?"

*

The final Hogsmeade trip of the year rolled around, and Fred was waiting for Katie in the Three Broomsticks. She walked in with Leanne and a couple of other girls in her year. Fred watched her for a few minutes. She was wearing cropped jeans and a pretty red shirt- oddly conservative for Katie- but she'd cut her hair and dyed it black. She looked different, and the colour was too dark for her skin, but Fred quite liked it.

She looked up and he lifted a hand to wave at her. She waved back, said something to Leanne, who saluted him, and Katie made her way over to him.

"Hi, Fred." She slid into the seat next to him.

"Hey," he replied "You ok?"

"Yep. You?"

"I'm-I'm great."

There was a silence, not awkward, but not entirely comfortable either. Fred broke it first.

"Do you want to go for a walk" he asked "It's too nice to stay inside."

"Yeah, ok then." said Katie, standing up eagerly.

Once outside it became much more relaxed. Katie chattered about school and various pranks that she'd helped Lee with, and everything she'd wanted to put in her letters, but felt too self conscious by his short to-the-point notes to.

To Fred it sounded as though Katie had been spending quite a lot of time with Lee. He supposed they'd been having a right laugh back at Hogwarts, while he spent his whole days frantically trying to run a business, probably flirting like mad too if Lee had anything to do it. He tried not to feel jealous, but it was difficult.

"Hey, where are we going?" asked Katie, suddenly realising that they'd wandered past all the shops.

"I want to show you something." said Fred, still thinking about Katie and Lee "Something private."

"Oo-er." giggled Katie and laced her fingers through his.

He led her down the main path, then turned off at a footpath leading up through a wood. They followed the path up. They didn't speak, the walk was too arduous for that, but Katie hummed contentedly to herself.

"The footpath leads to a meadow," Fred told her as they neared the top, about fifteen minutes later "But I'm not taking you there, it's boring."

He steered her off the path and onto a well beaten track, which was much easier to walk being horizontal rather than vertical.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

Intrigued she followed him along the path that was only wide enough to accommodate one person. The trees slowly began to thin and the track widened and became less hazardous, less determined to trip them up.

Katie gasped. Ahead of them was a beach; a real, genuine beach, sand and sea and even a couple of seashells dotted about.

"How did you find this?" she asked, incredulously.

Fred shrugged. "Me and George liked to explore these woods a few years ago."

"What about Lee?"

"Oh, he's was always with one girl or another." Fred said, a little snappily.

"You needed a girlfriend yourself I think." grinned Katie.

"Lucky I've got one now then, isn't it?"

They spent the rest of the day on the beach- Fred had brought a picnic with him- in their own little world. Slowly it began to grow cooler, and Katie was surprised as she glanced at her watch and realised that it was six o'clock and she needed to get back to school.

Slowly they packed up and started the walk back. By the time they got back to Hogsmeade, the light was beginning to fade.

"This was great," said Katie, wrapped in Fred's arms outside The Three Broomsticks "I hope we get loads more days like this."

Fred shifted "If I ever get anymore time off." He reminded her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're really busy with the shop and keeping alive without Mum's cooking. Turns out survival is a lot harder than it looks." He grinned.

Katie was not smiling.

"So, you won't be visiting?" she probed.

"Well, I'll try-"

"Try?" she enquired acidly "_Try?_"

"Yes, I'll try. Because Katie, believe it or not, in the real world you have a lot of stuff to do, you can't keep whizzing up to Scotland for a chat." He released Katie and glared at each other.

"Fine," said Katie stiffly "Well, lets just get rid of that obligation altogether shall we? If you want to forget me and carry on having fun I the _real world_, then by all means, don't let me stop you."

"What?" Fred frowned "What are you trying to say?"

_You need to get used to being apart from him- you've still got the whole of next year to go yet! And long distance relationships are hard enough as it is-_

"I don't think we can make a long distance relationship work." She said in a rush.

"That is such crap Katie. We haven't had _time_ to make it work." Fred was getting angry now "You're just throwing a tantrum because I can't visit every weekend."

That stung.

"Oh, yeah, Fred, that's it." She snapped sarcastically "I'm not a kid, even if I'm still at school."

"Well, you're acting like one!" he shot back "You know what? Maybe we can't make any kind of relationship work, let alone a long distance one."

"Fine by me!" Katie pushed him further away from her. "It's over."

"Fine!" he retorted "If that's what you want, it's finished. Bye Katie."

He stalked down the road and apparated without looking back once. Katie's hands were shaking with anger. She glared at the spot where he'd apparated. Who the hell did he think he was?

As the moments passed, however, she was overtaken by a feeling of horror. What had she said that for? Yes, she wanted to let him know how she felt, but she didn't want to break up with him.

What had she done?


	23. Words

_**And I want these words to make things right/ But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life/...One night and one more time/Thanks for the memories/ Even though they weren't so great/He tastes like you only sweeter/One night yeah, and one more time/Thanks for the memories/ Thanks for the memories**- Thnks Fr Th Mmrs: Fall Out Boy_

"You did WHAT?"

"We broke up. "said Fred miserably.

"Why?" George was looking at him as though he were crazy. Maybe he was.

"I don't know." He said, putting his hands in his face. "She was just being so clingy and she said that she didn't think we could make a long distance relationship work. And then we had a row and I walked away."

George clapped his twin on the back. "Well, maybe it's for the best." He said bracingly "You can clear your head, focus on work, and she can carry on at Hogwarts, and then perhaps when she leaves school you might be able to make things work if you still want to."

Fred looked up. "Do you really believe that?"

"No." George replied. "I think you two are ridiculous."

Fred groaned. "I know." He said, standing up "I think we are too."

*

_**Dear Fred,**_

_**I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean-**_

_**Fred-**_

_**I'm sorry. Can't we just-**_

_**Dear Fred,**_

_**I miss y-**_

_**Fred,**_

_**I'm really sorry for being such a stupid, sulky kid. I miss you. I just wanted you to write a bit more, or see me, or at least show me you were making an effort, but you're having so much fun being an adult then maybe it's better that I'm not pulling you back. Oh, god, is that how you feel? Please don't say that's how you feel-**_

*

Fred was trying to make the accounts balance when the letter arrived. He recognised Katie's owl straight away, but ignored it as he counted up a small stack of sickles.

Slowly, he signed his initials, and turned to the owl. What did it say? What else had Katie possibly got to throw at him? He took the letter and stroked the owl, who instantly took off. So she wasn't expecting a reply. That made it feel final- normally Ewok hung around pestering him for a response.

Tentatively he slit open the letter. It wasn't what he was expecting.

_**Dear Fred,**_

_**First of all, I'm sorry for acting like a spoilt child. I was being really immature and I'm sorry.**_

_**But I meant what I said. I'm not sure we can make a long distance relationship work while I'm still at Hogwarts. And if we try and fail, it's going to be even worse for both of us.**_

_**Why I'm writing is…surely we could have a better goodbye? I'm staying at my Aunt Libby's B&B in Cornwall this summer. Couldn't we spend some time together? I know you have to work, but…**_

_**Is this a really stupid idea? Maybe I'm being an idiot. Maybe it's better if we just end things with a clean break. I don't know. I just know that I don't want to end things the way we did in Hogsmeade. **_

_**Please think about it, and let me know. **_

_**Katie.**_

*

"Do you think he'll be up for it?" asked Leanne. Katie shrugged.

"I honestly don't know." She said truthfully "I just wanted to try. Who knows, maybe he'll think it's the worst idea in the world, and I don't blame him, but he might go for it, and then…well maybe if we have a better break up things might be better for us long term."

"You think you might get back together?"

Katie sighed. "I can't help hoping. But I don't know. But we have the same group of friends, and I don't want to make it worse for them if Fred and I have got that horrible row between us."

*

_Dear Katie,_

_You were the one who broke up with me. Why would-_

_Katie,_

_Of course I'll be there. Its kil-_

_Katie,_

_Oh god, Katie. I don't know-_

_Dear Katie,_

_How is this going to be any less hurtful? It'll be worse, if we spend a whole summer together having fun, and then having to switch it off, just like that. And what if the whole thing is a disaster? What if we spend the time arguing? And is it worth it to spend more time with y-_

*

Katie read and reread the reply letter.

"Good news?" asked Leanne cautiously. Biting her lip, Katie handed her the letter and watched her friend read it anxiously.

_Dear Katie,_

_I'm sorry too. For everything I did._

_I have to work in the day, but I'm usually finished by six, half six, and we're going to single staff on Sundays, sharing the weeks._

_Yes, it might be easier with a clean break. But since when did we do things the easy way?_

_Fred_


	24. Vacation

**I would try to fix these flaws of mine / If I could just see you for one more time/ Ready to self-destruct at any time/ And I'm trying to convince myself/ That the way I feel is all I have/ I don't believe in sure things/ There's pain in what the truth brings/ But she said/ "I'd know when you would come back"/ It's been a summer/ It's burning up in here/ Even though the bed is cold on your side/ I'd rather die/ than spend this night here without you**_- It's been a summer: New Found Glory_

Katie's aunt, Libby, was her Dad's younger sister, and some ten years younger than him. Having spent a decade wandering around Europe she had returned home and taken over a small crumbling B&B. She hadn't thought twice when Katie had written to ask if Fred could stay, and helpfully had organised a room for him with an ajoining door to Katie's room.

It was a boiling summer. Libby's "friend" was a muggle driving instructor and Katie spent her days learning to drive while Fred was at work. In the evennings they went out to dinner, then retired to their room- although Fred did not spend one night in his own room.

At the back of both of their minds was the fact that after these six weeks they were to go their seperate ways. Sometimes Fred almost said something about not breaking up, but each time, his nerve failed him. It was coming, inevitably closer each day and he couldn't stop it.

*

Four blissful weeks had passed when it happened.

Katie and Fred had decided to stay at the B&B to eat instead of going to the nearby town. They sat down at a table for two, as close as they could get to each other. The dining room was empty.

"It's been amazing, this summer." Fred said, looking intently at Katie as if to memorise everything about her. "It's going to be weird living in the shop again."

"I know," sighed Katie "We've been so isolated from everything here. I don't want to go back to it. I don't think I even want to go back to Hogwarts." She glanced at him nervously "Especially..."

She fell silent.

"Especially...?" Fred propmted.

""Without you." Her eyes and voice dropped and she fiddled with the tablecloth.

"Kate." He said softly "Look at me."

She slowly raised her eyes.

_Say it._

"Do I have anything in my teeth?"

_Way to go Fred._

She burst out laughing. "No." She smiled.

_Say it, say it, say it-_

"Er, Kate?" Unconciously they were leaning in closer to each other. Fred swallowed nervously. "We don-"

"_Katie_?"

Katie's head whipped around, so fast her hair flicked Fred in the face. She jumped to her feet, knocking a glass of water over, and the vase would have gone the same way if Fred hadn't have grabbed it in time.

"Dad?" she squeaked "What are you doing here?"

Katie's father stared at Katie, then narrowed his eyes at Fred.

"I came to visit my daughter." He said stiffly. "I didn't realise that you would be so...busy."

Fred wanted to bang his head on the table. All that time he had wanted to meet Katie's parents when they were dating, and now they were broken up he got caught about to kiss her.

Katie widened her eyes at Fred who stood up and offered his hand. "Hello sir." He said as respectfully as he could. No opint in antagonising the situation. "I'm Fred Weasley."

John Bell grasped Fred's hand briefly, the dropped it.

Silence.

"Let's talk somewhere else Dad." Katie said hastily, grabbing his elbow and steering him away.

"Fred Weasley?" he accused her.

"Yes." She looked back defiantly "What of it?"

"How long has this been going on?"

"About a year and a half." She replied coolly "Not that it's any of your business. I'm 17, I'm legally an adult in the magical world, I can do what I want. So if you're angry, I don't care-"

"I'm not angry." John said,

"-because I- wait, what?"

"I'm not angry." He repeated "Not that you've got a boyfriend anyway. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Katie blinked.

"You're not mad?" She was utterly wrongfooted now. For 18 months she'd kept Fred a secret and now he didn't even _mind?_ She couldn't believe it. She felt stunned. She felt shocked. She felt...actually she felt a little let down. The moment that she saw her Dad she had started to compose arguments and counter-arguments in her head. Unneccesary ones as it turned out.

"I thought you'd go ape shit." She confessed.

"Language."

"Sorry. I thought you'd go mental. You did at Pheebs. And Amy. And Andy."

John looked at her. "Phoebe's boyfriend was five years older than her. What kind of 20 year old dates a fifteen year old? Amy was with a lay about and Andrea- well it wasn't so much the boyfriend as the baby."

Katie squirmed as she remembered her own terror when she thought she was pregnant. A lot of that had been fear over how her Dad would react.

"Fred's only a year older than me, Dad." She told him "He has his own business. And I'm not pregnant."

"Then I'm not mad." He clarified.

Katie threw her arms around him "Thank you Dad!"

"Steady on Katherine." He said gruffly "I only said I'm not angry, I never said I liked him."

Fred crept back to his seat, and closed his eyes. He couldn't resist eavesdropping to see how Katie defended him. She hadn't just defended him though- she had acted as though she and Fred were still together. Which they weren't. They were just spending time together. And trying to dampen feelings between them. But they were together.

Not really.

John, for his part, was confused by Katie. She was his little girl, but it turned out she had a whole enormous part of her life that he wasn't even privy to. And he didn't quite trust that Weasley boy. There was something about him, the way he was around Katie. Maybe he was paranoid about her getting hurt. But he didn't think she'd listen to him anymore- or at least, not until Weasley had messed her about.

John stayed one night, then left. He didn't want to be part of the little bubble his daughter was in, but at least she would have him to turn to when it popped.

*

The final day of their holiday dawned, far too quick for the two of them. Fred still hadn't said anything about hisd feelings. He didn't know what to do. He knew Katie still loved him, and he loved her, but how would it even work? No, better that they break up but try to be friends.

Katie had passed her driving test, so Fred took the day off work and they drove to the nearest beach. They spent the morning there, but it was too busy, so they went back to the B&B and went for a walk instead.

That night Fred insisted that they went to the best- and most expensive- restaurant in town, so he exchanged some gold for muggle money and took her there.

After the meal they went for a walk besides the canal. Anything, anything, to keep them awake, together.

They returned to the B&B and stole strawberries from the kitchen. They sat on the bench in the garden and ate them, talking quietly. They took some champagne and drank it from the bottle while wandering up and down the long country lane. They climbed a tree, just because they could, wrapped in each others arms on one large branch.

Neither of them wanted the night to end because that was it. Eventually they went to bed, but still they didn't sleep, although there was very little talking either.

"God, it's so hot." Katie sighed, kicking off the thin covers.

"Yes it it." agreed Fred "In fact there's no need for this silly little top you're wearing...or those shorts..."

"Fred!"

She squealed as he began fiddling with the strap, but they turned to breathless giggles as he started to tickle her. "Stop-stop-no!"

Fred stopped "Shh!" he managed to get out through laughter "Your aunt will think I'm attacking you!"

He kissed her. _Say it say it say it!_

He remained silent.

*

The next morning Katie stifled her yawns and repressed her tears.

"Bye, Katie." Fred said, crushing her to him, unwilling to let her go. _Say it say it say it SAY IT._

"Bye Fred." What else could she say? What else was there to say?

Apart from stay with me?

He released her slowly, trying to measure the pain in her eyes. With a brave attempt at a smile he stepped back and picked up his case. Raising his hand in a farewell wave, he began to turn.

Katie moved forward, her mouth opening. "Stay with me." She whispered to thin air, tears glazing her face. But it was too late, far too late.

He was gone.

**A/N Yay! I've finished my first LOL notebook! 76 chapters to go! And I'm sorry my updates have such long gaps inbetween. Teachers have decided that it would be fun to dump loads of new work on me, and my speaking exams are only ten weeks away. And that's not a long time, it's like a second to Nicholas Flamel. Please review! **


	25. Broken Pieces

**Say a prayer/ The summer nights are dead/ The fall is coming/ We were careless hearts/ Who got caught up in this/ Breathe in deep/ And say goodbye/ The saddest song/ I'll ever write/ For anyone, anytime/ Breathe in deep/ Before I say/ I can feel us slip away/ You're almost gone/ You're good as gone / August is over- **_August is over: We The Kings_

"Katie, I think it was a mistake to break up with Fred after spending the whole summer with him." Leanne said gently "And, to be honest, if you're going to spend the whole year moping, I don't want to hang around with you."

"I'm not moping." Katie said defensively "Who says I'm moping?"

Leanne gave her best friend a look. "Kate, when I said long distance relationships were hard I didn't mean they were impossible."

"Shut up Leanne. I've made my choice." snapped Katie "I'll be fine. You'll see."

*

"Fred, quit flirting with Verity." George said severely to his twin. "She's got a scary boyfriend who'll come and beat you up and your bruised mangled face will put customers off."

"Ooh, a scary boyfriend?" teased Fred "I'm terrified now."

"Ok, look, I know what you're doing." George sounded exasperated "But flirting with every female you meet isn't going to help you get over Katie any quicker."

Fred tried to look and sound disdainful. "Oh, so you think that's what I'm doing, do you."

"Oh, I _know_ that's what you're doing." replied George "You miss her. And you got too involved this summer not to want to be with her. Now stop flirting with Verity and pass me those fake wands."

*

The first month went by incredibly slowly. Several times Katie wrote letters to Fred, but each one ended up in the fire. She decided to throw herself into her schoolwork, a decision that deeply disturbed both Leanne and Rachel.

She also became more focussed on Quidditch. Luckily she go on well with Demelza and Ginny- who tactfully made no mention of any of her family members- and the three of them often spent a lot of time discussing tactics and new moves, that invariably dissolved into general chatter, much to Harry's annoyance in the dressing room.

Fred meanwhile was doing his best to forget Katie and ignoring George's advice. He pretended not to see George's glances. There was nothing wrong with some harmless flirting. He never dated any of them- he was still too bruised for that, but he had fun charming every girl he met.

Until he turned the charm on to Angelina.

*

"Angie!" he grinned when she walked into the shop. "Hey, you look good today."

Angelina looked at him weirdly. "Er, hi Fred. I'm here for Alicia."

"Yeah, she'll be down soon, she's with George."

"Ok. So...what's up?"

"Not much. Nothing really." He gave her his best, most seductive smile.

Angelina stared.

"Ok...Fred what's wrong with you?" she asked, and then, quickly "How's Katie?"

Fred couldn't prevent his smile from slipping slightly.

Angelina pounced.

"Alicia said you and Katie broke up. Why?"

"God, Ange, get right to it why don't you?" he said grumpily "Yes, we split up. We did it because- well so what if we did?"

"Well...you don't look very happy. And I thought you two were good together, that's all."

"Well, I'm fine. And I'm sure Katie is too." said Fred, unable to mask his bitter tone.

Angelina raised her eyebrows. "Ok, chill out Fred, I was just wondering-"

"Hi, Ange, are you ready to go?"

Angelina half turned as Alicia and George came down the stairs.

"Wha-oh, yeah, lets go."

Alicia kissed George goodbye, and Angelina leaned in close to Fred "I have to go now, but this is not over Weasley. Remember I was the one who had to force you to get your arse into gear last time. Next time there'll be a lot more violence."

With a wink, she departed. Fred stared after her, a decision forming almost unconsciously in his head. What was the date? When was the next Hogsmeade date?

Did he dare do it?

*

Two weeks later Fred found himself sitting in a quiet corner of the Three Broomsticks, hidden behind a large plant. He watching, waiting for Katie, but he felt uncomfortably like a stalker.

Katie walked in with Leanne. Rachel had ditched them in favour of a secret date so it was just the two of them, although they were waving at a large group of students in the corner.

Fred watched her pull her hood off and shake out her hair. Her hair had turned red, bright red, and he smiled at her constant need to change something about herself, her hair, her nails, her style of clothing. He watched them for a few minutes, but felt more and more like a stalker with every passing second. Screwing up his courage he picked up his drink and began to make his way over. Katie was making her way to the bar. He intercepted her path and bumped right into her.

"Hey, watch it-"She broke off "Fred?"

He smiled sheepishly at her. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Katie was trying to hide the grin that emerged on her face as soon as she recognised him.

"Oh, I came to-er, check out the Zonko's shop. Expansion, you know." He lied.

"Where's George?" she asked with a small, shrewd smile.

"Minding the Diagon shop..." Fred trailed off "Ok, that's a lie. I came to see you."

A flame of hope was set alight in her heart.

"Really?" she feigned nonchalance. "Why were you looking for me?"

He looked at her "Are you really going to make me say it?"

She widened her eyes innocently "Make you say what?"

Fred sighed "You're evil. Katie, I wanted to see you because I miss you. And I want to be with you again."

He took her hand. Katie looked down at it.

"I don't think so." she said slowly. His face fell.

"Why?" His voice cracked on the word.

She pointed to her hair "We clash." she said simply.

Katie couldn't help grinning at the look of relief that washed over his face. "I missed you too." she admitted "I don't care if you live in London and I'm stuck up here. We can write to each other, can't we? As long as you _actually_ write to me this time-"

"Oh, thank god for that." came a cheerful voice to their left. It was Leanne. "She's been a right sad sack since she came back."

"Shut up Leanne." Katie said, blushing slightly. "Go buy a drink or something."

Leanne sauntered off to sit with some Ravenclaws while Fred and Katie sat in the corner, talking about anything and everything.

"Damn." said Fred after a while. "I have to get going. Places to go, people to see and all that."

"Oh, ok." said Katie, glancing over to Leanne "I should probably rescue Leanne from the clutches of that idiot Finch-Fletchley. He's had a crush on her since, like, forever."

Fred laughed "I'll see you soon." He promised. "And I'll write."

"You better." She warned him "Or I'll kick you so hard you won't be able to have kids."

"I will!" He held his hands up with faux-panic. "But first..."

He ran his hand through her hair, and leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips. She pulled him closer, not caring who saw. Her lips tingled when he pulled away. She smiled stupidly as he pulled on his cloak and waved happily as he exited the pub.

Leanne wandered over "Can we go now?" she whined "Finch-Fletchley is driving me mad, and Smith has joined the crap flirting ranks too."

Katie grinned "Ok, ok, we'll go. I'm just going to nip to the loo first."

She weaved in and out of the other students. When she got to the bathroom and put her hand on the door handle she felt an odd sense of foreboding. Shaking it off, she pushed open the door.

Then, nothing.


	26. Can you hear me?

**Through the trees/ ****I will find you;/ ****I will heal the ruins left inside you/ ****Coz I'm still here breathing now.../ ****I'm still here breathing now.../ ****I'm still here breathing now...**_-Through the trees: Low Shoulder (Jennifer's Body Soundtrack)_

_**Fred,**_

_**I don't know if they'll let you back in but you need to get back up here. About five minutes after you left Katie scraped part of her skin on a cursed necklace. She's alive but in a critical condition. I don't know what's happening between you two, but Leanne said something about letting you know and she's in a complete state so I said I'd write- come up to Hogwarts.**_

_**Rachel.**_

*

The doors to the hospital wing burst open and Fred marched in.

"Mr Weasley!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey "What-"

"Where's Katie?" he cut across her.

"She's- I'm not sure-"

"WHERE IS SHE?" he shouted.

"She's over here."

Anna Jacks stuck her head around a curtain. "You must be Fred."

Fred nodded mutely and took a couple of hesitant steps forward. Katie's mother twitched her lips in a strained attempt at an encouraging smile, and then he stepped behind the curtain.

Katie's skin was deathly white, her lips pale; cracked and parched. She seemed to have shrunk within the few hours since he'd last seen her. Her hands were balled up, as if in pain and her hair looked dry as it hung around her face. She looked as though she was barely breathing.

But for Fred the worst part was her expression. It was completely blank. Obviously he was relieved that there was no pain registering, but it was utterly devoid of emotion. It wasn't even the calm of induced sleep. It was just....nothing.

It looked like she was dead already.

*

_Snow falls gently. She stands next to a boy with startlingly orange hair, who is getting told off by a man with a hooked nose._

_A tall girl stands behind the man, crying. Antlers are sticking out of her head. The ginger boy loses house points and is given detention._

"_Why did you do that?" she asks once they are alone. _

_He shrugs "No one bullies my friends" he says firmly....._

*

Once Katie was moved to St Mungos Fred had to accept that life would have to continue. The healers weren't hopeful about her survival. They told him time and time again that they didn't know if they could heal her. Fred knew this.

It didn't mean he had to believe it.

He visited her everyday and chatted to her about his day, about what their friends were doing, what was happening in the world. He knew she could hear him, even if she couldn't respond.

*

_She's on a broom, wind whipping through her hair. No nerves, just excitement. She ducks a bludger, weaves through the identical twins, passes to a black girl, who passes it to a very pale girl. The pale girl returns it to her. It's a low throw, but she swoops down and catches it. She flies forward to face the Keeper. This is it. She aims- she throws, praying, hoping, and...it goes in. _

"_Ok," shouts the Keeper "You're in."_

_The two chasers whoop and the twins cheer._

"_Well done." Says one, zooming past her._

"_Great catch." Says the other "And you managed to miss all those bludgers that I aimed at your face- we'll make a player out of you yet"....._

*

November saw Katie lie blankly in the hospital bed for her 18th birthday. Fred sat next to her, holding her hand, blathering on as usual.

"...they've gone Dean Thomas to replace you, but Ginny doesn't think he's as good as you even though he's her boyfriend- although I don't know if she's just being nice seeing as you're lying here. They won the first match by quite a bit, even Ron was playing well apparently. And, even more surprisingly, he's got himself a girlfriend. Lavender something I think her name is."

He paused. There was a cough. At the door were three blonde, glamorous women, who could only be her sisters: Andrea, Phoebe and Amy. Behind them was their brother, Michael.

"Hi," Fred said nervously, standing up hastily "I'll just-"

He leaned over and kissed Katie on the cheek. "Happy Birthday Kate." He whispered.

*

_The celebrations seem to go on all night, the huge Quidditch cup sitting on a table in the middle of the room._

_She's dancing with the red-haired boy- what's his name? She feels as though she should know it. It flutters at the back of her mind like a feather in the wind and every time she makes a garb for it, it slips through her fingers. _

_But the boy is singing in her ear now. He's much closer and his breath tickles her neck. She feels as though she's been waiting for this moment for a while. Their eyes lock and his head begins to dip-_

_But the common room is quiet now and a Scottish voice is berating them. The boy steps away..._

*

"...and then me, George and Ginny threw parsnip at him and he marched off with the Minister the stupid..." Fred trailed off and gazed at Katie's expressionless face. Her hair was straw like, but it had grown and it was part blonde, part fading red.

He couldn't fool himself for much longer. In two months there had been nothing. They told him that the brain waves were minimal. Her heart was beating, but that was about it.

He'd tried so hard to remain positive, but he couldn't prevent the despair washing over him. Some Christmas this was turning out to be.

"Can you hear me Katie?" he whispered "Can you tell I'm here?"

"I think she can."

Fred jumped and turned. Phoebe Bell smiled sadly.

"Her aura changes when you're here." She told him. "Like she knows you're there, like she wants to respond."

_Aura?_ Normally Fred would have replied with something sceptical and laced heavily with sarcasm, but he found his throat had closed him, so instead he just nodded.

"You don't look like you believe in auras." She said with a quick grin. Fred was taken aback at how similar Phoebe and Katie's smiles were.

"Neither do you." He returned. They might have identical smiles, but they didn't have anything else in common. She was dressed in muggle clothes, a smart shirt and pencil skirt combination. She inclined her head slightly.

"Don't let clothes deceive you." She replied "Your disbelief was written on your face."

She took a seat "Why don't you carry on talking to her?" she suggested "I think she likes it."

Fred hesitated. Phoebe took his hand and squeezed it gently. He nodded and turned back to Katie.

"Lee's got a job on the WWN. It's only making tea but he's very proud of himself..."

They told him that there was almost no hope, but there was still a chance and he'd cling onto it for the rest of his life if he had to.


	27. Dreams

_**Everything you say or do/ I am always there for you/Whether you're laughing or you're screaming/ No one else could take your place/ I will always see your face/ When I'm awake and when I'm dreaming/ Cause I believe there's a place for you and me in this crazy world/ Come back to me, I'll be here waiting/ If you could see the sad look on my face/ Cause I still believe in a love worth saving.../Come back to me, I'll be here waiting/Cause I'm on my knees and my love's not fading-**__ Come back to me: Plain White T's_

_Out of all the scenes she'd watched back in her head, this was the best. She must have seen in a hundred times, from different angles, different points of view._

_This time, she was actually in her body. She felt her lips tingle, rather than knew it instinctively, felt her heart skip a beat, felt his skin under her hands._

_Then he spoke. "Come on Katie." He said "Wake up. Just open your eyes. Wake up for me."_

"_But I _am_ awake." She told him, bewildered. _

"_Wake up Katie. Just please, wake up."_

Fred woke with a gasp and sat bolt upright.

He'd dreamt about that last kiss in Hogsmeade. He'd kissed her, but instead of leaving he'd held her hand. He stayed that extra five minutes, the extra time that would have stopped her from going to the bathroom.

He'd stopped her from getting cursed.

_Fred._

_The red haired boy's name was Fred._

_It had come to her as she pulled away from that kiss. _

_She said his name to herself wonderingly._

"_You remember me, right?" he said "It's me, Fred."_

"_I know." She tried to tell him, but her mouth wouldn't work properly. That was odd. She could talk in the other dreams._

_Wait. Dreams? What dreams? This was life, this was reality?_

_Wasn't it?_

Fred dreamed about her every night. Bizarre, unsettling dreams, all centred on that last kiss in the Three Broomsticks, but she didn't know his name, or insisted that the dream was reality, or she couldn't even speak.

One day in late March Fred was sitting, staring blankly at Katie's face. He could feel his eyes starting to close. Michael was sitting opposite him, reading out the latest quidditch news. The room was warm, close, and he was so tired.

Michael closed the paper, and stood up, placing the paper on his chair. "I'll be back in a minute." He said quietly.

Fred closed his eyes and leaned on his hand, his elbow resting on the bed next to Katie. He rubbed his thumb gently over her skin.

Her fingers twitched.

Fred's head shot up. He stared at the hand in disbelief.

"Katie?" he said urgently

"_Katie, can you hear me?"_

"_Yes," she said, but although her lips moved, no sound came out. _

"_Yes," she tried again in frustration, but there was still nothing._

Fred dashed out and bumped straight into Michael.

"Her fingers moved!" he said excitedly "Get a Healer, her fingers moved!"

Michael's mouth was slightly open, and he ignored Fred and dashed in to see his sister. Fred grabbed the nearest Healer and tried to pull him into the room.

"Her fingers moved." He told him "Can you-?"

The Healer bustled into the room, neatly manoeuvring Michael out of the way and took a medical instrument and did some checks. Fred fidgeted impatiently, bouncing up and down on his feet.

"Is she ok?" he asked breathlessly. "Is she waking up?"

Healer Jenson turned to face him.

"There's activity within the brain." He said slowly. "We've been recording a slight, very slight increase in brainwaves over the past few weeks, but none of them showed anything, but now..."

"Yes?"

"There may be a chance- still a small chance, but a chance nonetheless- that she'll wake up."

Fred, beaming, bounded forward and grabbed her hand. "Do you hear that Katie?" he asked

"_Can you hear me? Come on Katie, I've lugged my arse up here all winter, the least you can do is regain consciousness."_

_The room was melting before her, the people, the furniture, everything except for Fred reducing to dust in front of her._

Over the next week or so her fingers moved, her eyes began to flicker. Several times her lips parted slightly or she would sigh. She began to stir slightly, to fidget.

On the first April, Fred's nineteenth birthday, the mumbling began, almost like she could sense the occasion. Sometimes it was high and breathy, slightly eerie, sometimes they were incoherent mutters, but sometimes there were names spoken softly, but clearly.

"Come on Kate," Fred pleaded with her one day

"_I know you can do this. Please, Katie. I love you."_

"_I love you."_

"What did she say?" Fred looked around, astounded. He glanced as Michael, then at Andrea, who gestured for him to keep talking.

"Come on

_Kate, say that again."_

"_I love you." She tried, but it had gone. The ability to talk had slipped away._

_But she didn't feel the usual disillusionment. She felt strong; she knew that it would come back. Fred was right. She could do this._

George insisted that Fred stay at the hospital. He spent hours by her bed, coaxing her back into the real world.

Then one Saturday, he could take it no more. She lay there, the blank look on her face now replaced by a slight frown, one that had been directed at Fred on so many occasions. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear.

_His breath tickled her ear, but he pressed his lips on her cold skin just below her ear, and then on her lips._

_A rush of blood streaked up her face. Something stirred within her, a determination to return. She forced herself to think, to breathe, to open her eyes._

_Katie Bell was rejoining the real world. _

**A/N Erm...hi. I'm so sorry this has taken me SO long to update, but I've been crazy busy with school (yay, coursework done, boo, exam period) and then I decided that it would be a good idea to distract myself with a boyfriend =] And then I got a lovely new laptop and I did plan to update that weekend, but it was my 18th so you know...I can't really remember what I did. JOKES I remember it all, I was just too tired to care. Sorry. So, don't hate me XD And I have another chapter for you too.**


	28. Questioning

_**I will never believe in anything again/ I will never believe in anything again/ Change will come/ Oh, Change will come/ I will never believe in anything again/ We will never believe again- **Coffee's for closers: Fallout Boy_

Katie blinked once, twice. A familiar red head was looking down anxiously at her.

"Fred." She smiled, and grasped his hand.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. Bit...woozy. Some of those dreams were trippy." She shook her head slightly. "But- hey, where the hell am I? What's going on?"

Fred hesitated "Can't you remember?"

She frowned in concentration "The last thing I can remember is opening the bathroom door in the Three Broomsticks. What happened to me? How many days have I been out?"

"Er...five." There was a pause as she contemplated this, and then Fred added "Months that is."

"WHAT?"

"You got cursed by a necklace."

"_What?_" She tried to sit up, but Fred pushed her back.

"Lie down or I'm not telling." He said warningly

"Fred! What happened to me?"

He sighed in exasperation. "You've been awake for a whole five seconds and you're already bugging me." He told her.

"Good. What happened?"

"When you went to the toilet someone put the Imperius curse on you and you were ordered to deliver a package. You and Leanne were arguing- see even under Imperius you're a moody cow- ow, that hurt! - the parcel tore, you touched it, and well..."

"Spent five months as a vegetable."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"What's the date?"

"April 7th."

"Happy Birthday! Oh my god, I missed my birthday! I can't believe I missed my eighteenth birthday because I was too busy sleeping!"

"I wouldn't call it sleeping..."

"Why isn't anyone else here?"

"Probably because it's about three in the morning." Replied Fred.

"If it's so early...why are you here?"

The back of his neck went pink. "I was- I've been staying here."

He became aware of the proximity of their faces: he was leaning in as though he would breathe for her. His hand cupped the side of her neck and his lips grazed hers.

"Move over." He whispered. He lay beside her, his arm over her waist, his hand possessively on the flat of her back, their foreheads touching.

Both dropped off to sleep quickly. Several hours later Anna and John glanced in and saw the pair of them curled up. They exchanged looks, then tiptoed away.

Katie returned to Hogwarts a couple of weeks later. Having missed half of the year of course, she didn't know hardly any of the work. She attended extra classes, and Dumbledore obtained permission from the Magical Board of Education for her to take her final exams in September.

The rest of the school year slipped by quickly for Katie, with her extra classes and quidditch and writing long letters to Fred at least once a week.

Eventually the questions about who had cursed Katie began to die down. Katie was glad- she had got snappier and snappier to those who had been asking her- but she couldn't help but think about it herself. Dumbledore had told her that they could launch an enquiry, but had hinted that if certain questions were asked, the wrong people might get involved.

Katie understood what he meant, and did not request an investigation.

The term drew to a close. Katie, however, still had several months of work ahead of her and did not relish the idea of spending her summer doing school work.

She was up late one night, pretending to work, but really writing a long letter to Fred. She suddenly became aware of screams and yells, muffled by the thick walls, but she could still hear them, and the unmistakable sounds of a fight.

"What the..." She poked Rachel, who was sleeping on her potions essay next to her. "Rach, wake up."

"Mmm?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear-"Rachel fell silent. Katie looked at her friend. At the same time they reached for their wands and crept cautiously to the portrait. Katie pushed it open and they peered out.

A thump behind them made them jump.

"Wh-"Katie stopped speaking. Hazel had her wand drawn.

"The Dark Mark." whispered Hazel, her eyes wide. "I just- it's over the Astronomy Tower- and-"

Katie swore.

"Do you think- it's _him_?" Hazel looked scared.

"How the hell would he get in here?"

"Well, who conjured the Dark Mark then?" retorted Hazel.

"Guys, this isn't time to argue." interrupted Rachel.

Katie closed her mouth and nodded at Hazel, who bowed her head slightly.

"What the hell is going on?" Cormac McLaggen was standing at the foot of the stairs, several people, including Leanne, behind him.

"I don't know." She was looking at Hazel, who was staring right back. Hazel quirked her eyebrow, a dare. Determined, Katie added "But I'm going to find out."

She stepped out of the portrait hole and began to make her way towards the sound of the fight. She could sense other Gryffindors following her. Leanne and Rachel were to her right, but Hazel was on her left. Katie felt that now, bizarrely, was the right time to tell Hazel she was no longer angry, but she didn't know how to phrase it, especially at such an inappropriate time. Instead she reached out and grabbed Hazel's hand, trusting her to get the message.

Hazel looked at Katie. Katie raised her eyebrows and Hazel winked. Just then, they emerged in the main entrance, where other students were gaping at the damage.

"Bloody hell." Breathed Leanne, gazing at the oak doors.

"What the hell happened here?" Rachel sidestepped a pile of rubies, just as Harry Potter dashed by them.

"Death Eaters." A petrified looking Ravenclaw told them. "Just ran through with Professor Snape and that Malfoy boy."

"Shit- hey Kate, where are you going?"

Leanne hurried after Katie, who was marching ahead. "I'm going to find some answers." She said, "Come on."

The four girls carefully picked their way through the wreckage. It was quiet, except for the distant yells of various curses, but they were getting fainter.

"Oh my-"

Katie turned from the direction of the shouts to where Rachel was looking.

Dumbledore's dead body was mere feet away from them.

Leanne gagged, Hazel retreated a few steps back but Katie didn't move. What do you do when your headmaster is lying dead in front of you?

More people were gathering, more people were crowding around. She couldn't stand it. Dumbledore wasn't meant to die. He just went on forever. Who had done this? How were they in the school?

Katie stumbled away, and vomited.

As soon as the funeral ended, Katie's mother whisked her away, afraid. There was no real sense of ending, but Katie found she didn't care. She didn't care that she would not get one last tour of the school, one last night in her bed with the posters around it, no chance to say goodbye to the teachers, no last broom ride on the quidditch pitch, no last meal in the Great Hall. There was no chance to look back at the years.

Now, she could only look forward.

**A/N And, in the words of Bill and Ted, be excellent to each other. And party on dudes! And perhaps review? :D**


	29. Break Away

_**You can't be too careful anymore/ **__**When all that is waiting for you/ **__**Won't come any closer/ **__**You've got to reach a little more/ **__**Open your eyes like I opened mine/ **__**It's only the real world/ **__**A life you will never know/ **__**Shifting your weight to throw off the pain/ **__**Well you can ignore it/ **__**But only for so long**- Careful: Paramore_

Within three days Katie was repressing the urge to climb out if the window as she had done so many times when she was a child and had been grounded for one reason or another. Her mother was terrified of Katie even leaving the house after Dumbledore's death, and especially after the incident with the cursed necklace.

Katie needed to get out. And fast.

_Katie-_

_Angelina is moving from London to Cornwell for work (and her new bloke is living there at the minute too, although I don't know what's going on with them, they had a huge row the other week and Ange was crying her eyes out, it was horrible)_

_ANYWAY. It means that I have a spare room...do you want to move in? It seems perfect, I mean, I know how your mum is driving you crazy and stuff so...yeah. The flat's crap, very small, very ugly, but the rent is dirt cheap. Let me know if you want to move in or not. If you don't, I'll find someone else._

_Love, Alicia xxx_

For Katie, it was the perfect opportunity to finally get some independence. She wrote back straight away, almost spilling ink everywhere in her indecent haste, agreeing. She'd packed half her stuff before she even told her parents.

For Katie's parents it was a disaster. Being the baby of the family, her parents had always been protective. The trouble was that Katie hated nothing more.

They threw up all the arguments. She hadn't fully recovered from her coma. Voldemort was getting more and more powerful. She couldn't cook/clean/deal with bills and other adult issues. She didn't even have a job.

Katie did three things. First she went out and got a job as a waitress in the Leaky Cauldron. Secondly she bought a book on cooking and money tips.

Then she packed up and sent all her boxes to the flat.

Alicia hadn't lied. The flat was cramped and dark, but Katie couldn't care less, excitedly exploring the rooms.

Her bedroom had been adapted by magic to expand enough to fit a double bed, but it was still small. She levitated all her boxes in and began to unpack, putting her favourite photo of her and Fred on her desk.

Suddenly, there was a banging on the door. Katie had a sinking feeling that she knew who it was. Sure enough, Anna toppled in through the door.

"Hello Mum." Katie noticed that her accent was going slightly more cockney, betraying her nervousness. "What's up?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded Anna.

"Dancing a salsa. What do you think?" Katie replied.

"No, you are packing up and moving right back home."

"No, I'm not. I'm staying here-"

"I don't bloody think so-"

"You can't make me do anything-"

"Yes, I can actually, I'm your mother!"

Katie folded her arms. "Well, actually, I'm eighteen, and therefore a legal adult in both magical and muggle worlds, which means I can do what I want."

"It's. Too. Dangerous!" Anna shouted.

"Er, Ms Jacks?" Alicia's voice came from the doorway. "Would you like some tea or coffee?"

Anna plastered a fake smile on her face as she turned around to face Alicia. "No, thank you." She said. Katie took the opportunity of Anna's turned back to childishly pull a face and mime furious swear words at her.

Anna turned back to her daughter.

"You let everyone else move out when they wanted!" Katie was determined to get her point in quickly. "Even Andie moved out when she was nineteen and she had a bloody baby!"

"Yes, but things are different now!" burst out Anna.

"You think I don't know that?"Katie raised her voice.

"No, Katherine, I don't think you do."

No one ever called her Katherine.

"Mum, I'm NOT A KID!" she yelled "I KNOW what's going on! I joined the DA because of it! I spent five months in a coma because of it! I stood in front of Dumbledore's dead body because of it! I think I fully comprehend the situation!"

Anna stared at Katie.

"I don't know why you're so against this." continued Katie "It's not like I want to move in with Fred, or even Leanne, or Rachel, or Hazel, who are all doing nothing and getting wasted. This is _Alicia_. Model pupil and prefect at Hogwarts, trainee Healer and an all round competent person. What is your problem?"

"You-know-who, Katie! That's my 'problem'!"

Katie sat down on the bed. "Mum," she said gently. "I get that this is hard for you, I get that the world is scary and I get that you're afraid for me. I understand that. But, you have to let me do this!"

Anna looked at her daughter, so young and earnest and convinced that she knew better, searching for the final traces of her little girl. She could find none. Instead she could only see the face of a young woman, an adult...a fighter.


	30. Hero

**Come here, please hold my hand for now/ ****Help me, I'm scared please show me how to fight this,/ ****God has a master plan/ ****And I guess/****I am in his demand/****Please save me this time I cannot run/****And I'll see you when this is done/****And now I have come to realize/****That you are the one who's left behind/****Please stay until I'm gone/****I'm here hold on to me I'm right here/****Waiting-_Not Now: Blink 182_**

Katie pushed the door open and threw her keys into the small pot on the table in the hall. A letter was waiting for her from her brother who was in Germany. Absorbed in reading it, she didn't notice that the lounge door was open when she'd left it closed that morning. She made her way in the lounge, and then almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Fred in the armchair.

"Jesus!" she said loudly.

"Hi Kates," he said calmly "Put your wand away; I'm not going to kill you."

Katie's heart was racing. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I came to see you." He smiled angelically.

"Oh, ok." She paused "_How_ are you here? Did you break in again?"

"Do you really think that I, Fred Fahbian Weasley would be so rude, so arrogant, so...so...Slytherin as to callously break into your flat? I am hurt. _Hurt_...no, heartbroken." He put his hand on his heart to emphasise his point "Devastation does not do justice to the way that I feel that you don't trust-"

"Ok, ok! I get it, I get it, you didn't break in!" Katie interrupted, holding up her hands. "Did you nick George's key?"

"I didn't know anything about a key. Hey, why does he get a key and I don't?"

"Because he's better in bed." She replied absently, slitting open a bill and wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"_What?"_

"What?" She widened her eyes innocently. They looked at each other, staring each other down.

Katie grinned first. Fred looked revolted.

"Why do you always feel the need to insinuate relationships with my brothers?"

Katie looked confused. "I don't. I believe that was the first time I did."

"What about when I punched the French guy and we got together?" he reminded her.

"Oh yeah." Katie grinned again. "Come on though, that was, like, 2...2 and a half years ago." She blinked. "Have we really been together that long?"

"Well...give or take a few months." Fred said fairly.

"Wow, that's a long time."

"I know." Fred took a deep breath "But I'm not here to talk about that. Katie, sit down. I want to tell you something."

"The Order?" Katie sank slowly back into her chair "You mean...you go out and risk your life fighting You-Know-Who?"

He nodded.

"And soon you'll be going to move Harry Potter from his aunt's house in a way that will almost certainly get you injured if not killed?"

Another nod.

"Are you crazy?"

Fred opened his mouth, but Katie beat him to it.

"Can _I _join?"

Fred gaped "I don't think so." He said aghast.

"Why not?" she said angrily. "I want to fight too! And you know I'm just as capable."

"Er- I don't know who's in charge anymore." He said quickly. "Since Dumbledore- you know- we don't really have a leader. Moody maybe, with his constant vigilance and wotnot. So-"

"Fred, you're waffling." She told him. "Which means you're lying to me. What's the real reason you don't want me to join?"

"I don't want you to get hurt." He said reluctantly.

She ran the tips of her fingers from beneath his ear and along, down to his chin. "But I can get hurt at any point. That's how things are. I want to help stop them too."

She kissed him softly on the lips and whispered "I want to be a hero too."

"Not exactly a hero." He mumbled, resting his forehead against hers.

"Maybe that's a good thing." She breathed "Heroes tend to get into a lot of trouble."

"Where are you going?" she asked him lazily, watching him pulling on his jeans.

"Guess." He said, hunting around for his shirt.

"_Tonight?" _Katie shrieked, sitting bolt upright. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want to ruin the sex with worry." He smirked, but it faded as he took in Katie's expression. Instead he smiled uncertainly "I'll be alright Kates, I promise."

"Yeah, ok." She said sceptically. He stuffed a foot into a baseball boot and sat on the edge of the bed and put his arm around Katie and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head.

"I'll be ok Katie." He said, inhaling the familiar, comforting smell of her hair.

"You'd better be." She mumbled into his chest.

He pulled away and grabbed his jacket. "I'll see you later." He promised. "I love you."

"Love you too...Fred?" she called him back.

"Yes?" he poked his head around the door.

She surveyed him, unsmiling. "Don't try to be a hero."

Alicia and Katie sat on opposite sides of the living room in silence. Katie had a book open in front of her, Alicia an assignment, but neither were doing anything apart from watching the two way mirror on the coffee table.

Both jumped as there was a loud, inappropriately jaunty tap on the front door. They glanced at each other, suddenly scared. Tonight it felt like that war had finally crept up to their windows; the front line had come to them.

"_They_ don't knock like that, do they?" whispered Alicia.

Katie shook her head, unconvinced. The two of them crept to the door. Alicia had her wand out behind Katie, while Katie had one hand hovering near her wand and one turning the key.

She pulled the door open suddenly- to see Rachel, smiling.

"Hey Kate, what's up?" she said easily, eyeing Alicia's wand. "Can I come in, or am I going to get blasted back?"

"Er- yeah-sure." Said Katie, relief washing over her that it was only Rachel.

Alicia said nothing, but made her way into the kitchen, allowing Katie to lead Rachel into the living room. Katie noticed that Alicia did not put her wand away.

"Hold on, that's Alicia's mirror." Said Katie, snatching it up. "She's waiting for a call from her Mum."

'_Except that Alicia's parents are muggles' _Katie thought. But Rachel didn't need to know that.

"Do you want a drink Rach?" she asked.

"Ooh, yeah, coffee please."

Once in the kitchen she tossed the mirror at Alicia who easily caught it and set it upon the table.

"What is she doing here?" hissed Alicia.

"I don't know." Whispered Katie. "She could not have picked a worse time. This is so typical of Rachel."

She put the kettle on and Alicia gently pushed the door to. "What are we going to do?"

"You watched the mirror." Katie said in an undertone "I'll get rid of her."

"So, Rachel." Katie walked in with one cup of coffee, hoping to make it clear that this was no time for a cosy chat.

"I've just dumped Ben." Katie's heart sank. Surely Rachel didn't want a heart to heart _now _did she?

"Oh, no, why?"

"He was too...uninterested." Rachel shrugged. "He didn't care about me, or my life, he didn't want to know, too caught up in his own life."

Katie was slightly taken aback by the vicious tone in Rachel's voice. But then her friend smiled, and seemed less bitter. "And I think he was cheating on me anyway."

"What a twat." Katie said consolingly. "You're better off without him anyway." _And now GO AWAY! _she screamed internally.

Rachel nodded. As she took a gulp of coffee Katie glanced at her watch.

The next fifteen or so minutes went by agonisingly slowly. Katie attempted to act the part of sympathetic friend, but it became increasingly difficult.

"Kate is there something wrong?" asked Rachel "You seem a bit...fidgety."

"I'm fine." lied Katie, but at her friend's raised eyebrows she sighed. "I'm waiting for Fred."

Rachel nodded. Katie inwardly groaned; more was expected.

"He's meant to be coming round." She improvised "I haven't seen him for about a week and we...er...you know..."

Rachel raised her hands "Say no more." She grinned, standing up "I won't bug you anymore. I'll see you next week for Hazel's birthday, right?"

Katie nodded rapidly, fighting the urge to forcibly drag Rachel to the door and push her out. The second the door was closed she dashed into the kitchen.

"Have you-?"

Alicia shook her head tiredly. "I'm worried." She said quietly "Actually, ignore that, I'm really scared. George said they should be done by eight."

"It's nearly nine now." Katie felt a lurch of terror so strong she thought she might vomit.

"Katie?"

"Fred!" she shrieked, scooping up the mirror. "What took so long? What happened? Are you safe?"

"Where's George?" Alicia cried at the same time, trying to grab the mirror off Katie. "Is he ok? Where is he?"

"He's fine. He's here. We hit a spot of trouble and George- but he's ok."

"Fred Weasley, where is George and WHAT HAPPENED?"

Fred swallowed. "He lost an ear."

Katie gagged at the thought, then her arms shot out to support Alicia as she swayed.

"Mum says you can come and see him if you want Alicia."

Alicia nodded "Yes- is he- can I see him through the mirror-"

"Hey babe." George's face appeared in the mirror.

"You are in so much trouble George." Alicia said angrily "I told you! I'm coming over, now."

She pushed the mirror into Katie's hands and marched off to apparate.

"Oh dear." George pulled a comical face, and Katie heard Fred snort with laughter. The mirror went black, and Katie stared at it for a moment, unable to believe that Fred had just cut her off like that. Then his face appeared again.

"Katie?"

She peered at him. "Yeah?"

He gave her a sweet smile. "I didn't try to be a hero."

**A/N Er...hi guys. I'm back. Again, I'm sorry that there has been such big gaps between chapters, but I've been crazy busy. Exams/School is over (forever!) but I've been on holiday and working and going out so...I have internet on my laptop now though, so hopefully updates will be more frequent. I know I don't deserve it, but reviews would be greatly appreciated XD xxxx**


	31. Night

_**I used to waste my time dreaming of being alive **/**(now I only waste it dreaming of you)**/ **Turn off the lights and turn off the shyness**/ **Cause all of our moves make up for the silence**/ **And oh, the way your make up stains my pillowcase**/ **Like I'll never be the same**- Of all the gin joints in the world: Fallout Boy_

"Happy Birthday Harry!" Katie called over as she and Fred walked over the lawn, her suitcase levitating in front of her.

It was the night before Bill and Fleur's wedding, and Katie and Alicia had been invited by Mrs. Weasley to stay for the night.

"Mum's put you and Alicia in Percy's room." He told her.

She nodded absently. Then she registered what he'd said. "Wait- me and _Alicia_ are sharing a room?"

"Yep."

"Why not me and you?"

Fred looked uncomfortable and half shrugged. "Don't suppose Mum wants her kids up to no good under her roof."

"What about Bill and Fleur?"

Another shrug. "Fleur sleeps in another room. Tomorrow, after the wedding, they're going away."

Katie sighed. "Ok. I'll just get settled in."

* * *

Katie lay on her bed, idly flicking through a magazine, slightly fed up.

The door creaked open, and Fred poked his head around the door with a mischievous grin.

"Hi Katie. Guess what?"

"What?" she said, without enthusiasm. He slipped through the door and closed it softly behind him.

"I'm here to set our bed up." He said, pulling out his wand.

"Woohoo." She said flatly "Wait- our?"

"Yep, yep- we've been allocated our own room."

"Yay!" cheered Katie, swivelling her legs so that she was in a kneeling position. Fred moved closer and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, a kiss that quickly deepened.

"We should probably make this a double." He gasped.

"No, no, no" Katie murmured against his lips. "This'll do."

They fell backwards. Fred pulled away long enough to lock the door and cast a muffling spell so that they wouldn't get caught, and then went back to Katie.

* * *

"Maybe now would be time to make this a double." Katie grinned, later. "I'm a bit squashed."

Fred yawned and leaned over, rummaging in his jeans pocket. He found his wand and muttered a complex little charm. The bed magically expanded and Fred rolled away. He picked up a two-way mirror and checked it.

"Expecting a call?" asked Katie.

"No..." mumbled Fred.

"So," Katie said shrewdly "Your parents are fine with us sharing a room then?"

"Well, I'm sure Mum would skin me alive if she knew I was in here actually." Fred said cheerfully. "But never mind."

"You better make sure she doesn't find you then." Smirked Katie, kissing his shoulder.

He raised one eyebrow. "Why, Miss Bell, you should be shocked at this subterfuge, not condoning it, a good young lady like you."

"Good young lady?" Katie snorted. "You of all people should know what lies beneath this innocent and angelic exterior..."

Fred considered "I wouldn't say you have an innocent exterior." He grinned "You only really look innocent when you're asleep."

"That's unfair." She stuck her lip out in a pout. "You think I only look innocent in bed?"

"No...only when you're asleep." He suddenly looked mischievous "I wouldn't say you looked innocent in bed-"

He stopped as her lips found his.

* * *

Fred woke up with a jolt. He'd been dreaming that there was a woodpecker on his shoulder, tapping on his head with more and more force until finally it jabbed him in the eye.

"Alicia? Katie?" he heard Mrs. Weasley call "There's breakfast on the table if you want some."

Fred shook Katie awake. "See you in a minute." He whispered. He grabbed the mirror and tapped it with his wand. He yanked on his boxers and jeans and apparated up to his bedroom.

Alicia squeaked as he appeared. She was pulling on a shirt of George's, while his twin transfigured the bottom bunk back into a single.

"Go, go!" Fred whispered urgently, clambering into his bed. There was a pop as Alicia disapparated just as Mrs Weasley banged on the door. "TWINS!" The door was flung open "Come on, up, now, we've got a busy day! Up!"

George opened one eye "Ok, ok, we're getting up." He mumbled. Mrs Weasley shut the door loudly and Fred groaned.

"Oh, she's going to be a nightmare." He dressed quickly though, keen not to have his mother shouting at him all day. And he wanted to see Katie.

By the time he got down Katie was sandwiched in between Alicia and Hermione, who were all having a very quiet discussion, punctuated by occasional giggles from Katie.

Fred sat on the opposite side of the table. Ron tried to talk to him, but he wasn't really listening. He kept catching Katie's eyes instead, and smiling when she looked at him. One time he crossed his eyes when she glanced over, and she choked on her tea.

"Are you ok dear?" Mrs Weasley asked, frowning slightly at Fred.

"Yes, thank you Mrs Weasley." Said Katie sweetly, determinedly avoiding looking at Fred. "I've got- er- a bit of a cough." She attempted a cough, to demonstrate.

"I hope it didn't keep you awake." Mrs Weasley did not sound convinced. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Oh," said Katie, beaming "The best."

**A/N Sorry, I know it's short. But I'm about to type up some more chapters, though I won't update them all at once and kill your inboxes haha. I want to just get them written up because in a few weeks I'M GOING TO UNIVERSITY! :D And I'm going to be crazy busy. But more soon :) Promise. **


	32. Danger Ahead

_**This is how we'll dance/ When they try to take us down/ This is how we'll sing out loud/ This is how we'll stand when/ They burn our houses down/ This is what will be, oh glory-**Let the Flames Begin: Paramore_

Katie spent the morning helping to set up the garden, putting out the chairs and helping to decorate.

"This is boring."

Katie jumped as Fred sneaked up behind her and muttered into her ear. "How about a short break?"

"Yes please." Katie slipped her hand into Fred's.

They had just started to sneak off when Mrs Weasley called across the garden "And where are you two going?"

"To check the plants." Said Fred innocently. "They need to be in good condition otherwise the whole wedding is going to be fu-"

"Nice try." Mrs Weasley had her hands on her hips. "Fred, get ready, you'll be greeting guests in a bit, and Katie, dear, come with me, you can help dress the bride."

Katie looked horrified. "But-" she started, but Fred squeezed her hand warningly.

"Just go with it." He whispered. Katie's shoulders sank as she followed Mrs Weasley into the house.

She found Alicia in Fleur's room, looking bored as Fleur floated around the room humming angelically to herself. However, by deliberately being useless- Katie had perfected the art of looking as though she was doing something when she wasn't at school, while Alicia just kept knocking things over- they managed to sufficiently annoy Fleur enough to be dismissed.

By the time that both girls were ready, most people were in the marquee.

"We'll be late, come on." Alicia called anxiously, hurrying down the stairs, and into the path of the dreaded Great-Aunt Muriel.

"And who are _you_?" sniffed the old woman, just as Molly came out of Fleur's room.

"This is Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, the twins' girlfriends." She said, sounding harassed. "Muriel, why don't you go downstairs and get yourself a seat..."

"Hmmm." Muriel pursed her lips, picking her insults. "You're as short as a house elf, aren't you?" She said to Alicia who looked offended. Her eyes widened as she noticed Katie's hair, which was now blue. "Merlin's beard, girl, what have you done to your hair? You look like an easter egg!"

Katie raised her eyebrows; Alicia wrinkled her nose. Just then Hermione bustled by.

"Oh dear, is this the Muggleborn?" Muriel asked no one in particular. "Bad posture and skinny ankles."

"It was lovely to meet you." Katie said firmly, grabbing Alicia's elbow and steering her away.

"Did she really just call me a house elf?" Alicia screwed her face up. "She's like two inches taller than me."

"Yep," Katie said grimly. "God, the twins were right about her weren't they? _Easter egg, _as if."

"To be fair, your hair is bright blue and you're wearing pink. I see what she means..."

"Shut up short arse."

They made their way down to the marquee, cheerfully insulting each other and sat in their assigned seats, five or six rows back, and waited. The music began and Fleur glided down the aisle, Ginny and Gabrielle behind her. The murmuring died down as she reached Bill and the pair of them clasped hands.

Alicia's eyes filled with tears almost instantly. Katie was not so sentimental; instead she found herself wondering if she would ever be up there. Would it be Fred in Bill's place? She couldn't picture the pair of them up there, even though they'd actually been together for longer than Bill and Fleur...

"...I declare you bonded for life."

Katie woke up and clapped with the others. She stood up, offering Alicia a mirror as she did so, smirking at Alicia's horrified squeak as she realised her tears had left black make up streaks down her face.

"Shall we go and say congratulations?"

Katie jumped as she heard Fred's voice in her ear. "Stop _doing_ that!" Fred grinned.

"But you're so adorable when I make you jump." He said, sliding an arm around her waist and leading her over to Bill and Fleur, both who were smiling blissfully.

"Hi, you two." Said Katie, "Congratulations."

Bill beamed "Thank you, thanks."

Fleur, snuggled up to her new husband, gave a small laugh. "Per'aps it will be you next, no?" she suggested.

Katie felt herself flush, but Fred just laughed.

"No, I don't think so." He said easily "I don't think we could put Mum through that amount of stress again for at least another ten years."

Fleur gave her own tinkling laugh, but then another guest claimed her attention and Fred and Katie wandered off to get drinks.

They sat at a table with George, Alicia, Lee Charlie and a couple of Fleur's veela cousins- who seemed to be having a great time getting chatted up by Lee and Charlie- but before long they were up on the dancefloor. Katie had a weird reminder of the Yule Ball, two and a half years earlier, and how it could have been had she not gone with Jacques.

The night wore on and as the hours passed they stopped dancing as such and just revolved around each other, foreheads pressed together, whispering and giggling.

The feeling of an alternate Yule Ball was amplified when Fred suggested that they went somewhere a little quieter, and they slipped off down the garden, past the bushes and over the fence to the small brook.

The music was much lower and they could hear the high-pitched calls of the night insects. Fred sat on the bank, dipping his bare feet into the water, while Katie sat on his lap, fiddling with a lock of his hair as they talked.

Eventually the talking faded away. He looked into her eyes, brown into green and kissed her gently.

"I love you Katie." He said seriously.

"I know." She smiled. "I love you too."

He brushed a strand of blue hair out of her eyes. "Even if you do dye your hair the most ridiculous colours." He added "I mean-"

He broke off and glanced behind him. "D'you hear that?"

There were screams coming from behind them. Katie stood up quickly, allowing Fred to pull his shoes on and, gripping hands, they ran to see what was happening.

What they saw shocked Katie so much she stopped, jerking Fred back.

Death Eaters.

At the Burrow.

Without thinking, both pulled their wands out.

"No Katie." Fred grabbed her wrist. "The enchantments have broken, apparate away."

"Only if you come with me." Katie insisted "Otherwise I'm staying here."

"Just go!" he began to walk off "I have to stay, this is my family."

She followed him stubbornly "Then I'm staying too- we can argue about this another time."

He had no time to react. The Death Eaters had blasted through the desperate spells of those remaining and were forcing those still at the Burrow back inside. Instead he took Katie's hand and refused to let go as they were herded inside.

**A/N I know it's short and I know it's late and I'm sorry :/ I started uni about a month ago and am only just getting into the swing of things...bloody student nights £1 vodka and mixer :P Thank looneylovegood96 for this update :) If you appreciated the fact that I updated and haven't in fact stopped reading...please review. Merci.**


	33. In the Storm

**_I wonder to myself/ Could life ever be sane again?_**_ -Panic: The Smiths_

The interrogations went on for hours.

Fred and Katie stood next to each other in silence, occasionally glancing at each other. The Death Eaters who were on guard had not reacted well to any talking. Besides, there was nothing to say.

A muscle blond man pointed at Katie with his wand. "You. Now."

She swallowed and stepped forward, squeezing his hand to reassure as she did so- but to reassure him or herself? She didn't know.

They took her upstairs and into Percy's room. It had been ransacked, hers and Alicia's suitcases emptied out all over the floor, including to Katie's inappropriate embarrassment a pair of what could technically be defined as underwear...but lacier.

"Sit." The Death Eater said.

She sat; straight-backed and twisting her fingers together.

"Name?"

"Katie Bell."

"Full name?"

"Katherine Emma Bell."

He jotted it down "Blood status?"

"Half blood."

There were more questions like this; age, address, occupation...Katie answered truthfully and quickly, afraid of torture.

There was a pause. Katie swallowed nervously.

"When was the last time you saw Harry Potter?"

_Last night._ "Oh-um- I don't know-p-probably at the end of last school year."

The Death Eater said nothing, just looked at her. She fought the urge to babble. If she did, he would know she was lying. She flicked her eyes to her underwear. The contrast between the seriousness of her situation and that would keep her mouth from saying something potentially fatal...

He made a note.

"The end of last school term." He repeated.

"Yes."

"So, you didn't see him today?"

"No."

"Not at all?" he pressed. He had his hands on either arm of the chair, his face only inches from hers.

"No." It wasn't really a lie- she'd not been told what he looked like with the polyjuice potion.

"His friend's brother is getting married. Don't you think he'd want to be here?"

"I don't know."

"The Weasley's are like a surrogate family to Potter- surely he'd be here for a celebration like this?"

"I don't know." She said again, clinging to ignorance. He stood up abruptly and walked to the mirror. He had his wand in one hand, the tip of it resting on his chin.

"And now if you mind answering, what exactly is your relationship with the Weasley's Miss Bell?"

The politeness creeped her out. It was harder to keep her focus when he wasn't outright threatening her.

"I'm a-friend."

"To the whole family, or just one in particular?"

"The whole family." She concentrated on not stuttering. Not betraying how terrified she was of saying one word and managing to tell him what he wanted.

The door opened, making Katie jump. Her heart stopped for a slight second, she could swear, as Severus Snape walked in.

"Parkinson, you're wanted-" Snape stopped speaking. "Well, well. Miss Bell, wasn't it?"

"Yes, sir." She was almost breathless with the tension now. Every single time she had angered Snape at Hogwarts was coming back to her. She hoped that he didn't remember the times that she had stolen his stuff and played up in his lessons and hold it against her. Surely he wouldn't be so petty?

"Parkinson, Lestrange wants you."

The blond man left. Snape shut the door and glanced at the piece of parchment that Parkinson had handed him.

"A friend to the _whole family?" _He sneered. "Not just those twins- or, more specifically, Fred Weasley?"

She didn't answer.

"And so, you don't know anything about Potter's whereabouts?"

"No."

"Or Potter himself?"

"No."

"You knew him well though, didn't you?"

"Not really."

"Well you were team mates on the Quidditch team for six years though, weren't you?"

"I- he- he was the Seeker." She said lamely "Outside of quidditch we didn't really talk?"

"Oh, really? What about his little fan club, the one entitled _Dumbledore's Army?_ I seem to remember your name mentioned in connection with that..."

"I didn't really know him." She said stubbornly "I don't know anything."

Sanpe nodded. "Well, I knew _that_ Miss Bell. Get out."

She leapt to her feet instantly and left the room as quick as she could without actually running. A silent, masked Death Eater escorted her down.

She pushed through the crowded kitchen, searching for him.

"Looking for Fred?" Lee breathed into her ear. "He's upstairs, they took him about a minute after you."

Fred was upstairs much longer than she had been. Katie stood next to Lee, anxiously tapping her foot and bending her fingers back.

Finally, Fred made his way over to her, pale, holding his arm, but otherwise looking determinedly unconcerned.

"What happened?" Katie whispered.

Fred grimaced. "Had Lucius Malfoy interrogating me, asking me the _same _questions, as if I was going to fall for it and answer after the eighteenth time. I think he was trying to trick me. I told him I was bored and he gave me this-" he pointed to a slash on his cheek "And then this."

He removed his hand from his arm to reveal a large chunk of his arm missing.

"You _idiot_!" Katie scolded in a hiss. "You asked for that."

He winced as she gently touched the scratch.

"I can't heal." She said hopelessly "You'll have to wait until we see Alicia."

"Will you stay at the shop tonight?"

"Well, there isn't much of tonight left." She pointed out "But yeah, please."

"Keep it down over there!" one of the Death Eaters yelled. Fred pressed a finger to Katie's lips and smiled slightly.

After another hour, two hours, three?- Katie didn't know, she'd lost track of time completely, a huge hooded figure stood in the door of the room.

"Those who don't live here need to go." He said loudly.

They were pushed out into the garden. Fred firmly held onto Katie's hand, and the pair of them twisted into darkness.

**A/N Thank you so much for the reviews- they really motivated me to get my butt into gear. Also, FreyaRhianna, yes the jam doughnut was a friends thing. Nicely spotted ;) xx**


	34. Solitude

**_Picking up things we shouldn't read/ Looks like the end of history as we know/ It's just the end of the world_**_- Nine in the Afternoon: Panic at the Disco_

Katie was panicking.

"Where the hell are they?" she cried "All her stuff has gone"

She turned to Fred in fear "She's a muggleborn," she whispered "You don't think they've-they've got her, do you?"

"No." He said certainly "They'd have trashed the place. I think George is with her."

Katie and Fred had gone to her and Alicia's flat to pick up some stuff for Katie, but instead had found half of the flat emptied and deserted.

"I'm going to look in my room." Katie said "Maybe there's a note or something."

"I'll look in her room." Fred suggested.

Within five minutes, Katie was calling for Fred. He came into her room, where she was biting her lip and staring at a piece of parchment.

"It was charmed to respond to my touch." She said.

"Nice." Fred sounded admiring. Katie continued to stare at the words. "What does it say?" he asked. She shook her head and passed it to him.

_**Dear Katie,**_

_**I'm fine, and so is George, so don't worry about us (though I'm terrified for you and Fred right now) I'm going to get my parents and we're going into hiding. George will tell you more if you want to know, but it might be better if you don't. **_

_**I'm sorry to run out on you after a month~ Hazel's looking for a place to live isn't she? Rent out my room, to whomever. I don't think I'll be back for a while. **_

_**Visit me if you feel safe enough to. Write to me if you can. If I don't see you before, good luck with your exam resits. **_

_**Love to you (and Fred)**_

_**Alicia xxxx**_

Fred looked up from the paper. "Well, at least you know she's going to be safe." He said comfortingly, pulling her into a hug. She clung to him.

"It just keeps coming closer and closer, permeating daily life more and more." She said despairingly. "Sometimes it scares me so much I feel sick with fear."

Fred found he had nothing to say. Instead he held onto her tightly.

* * *

She didn't know why, but Katie found herself reluctant to replace Alicia so quickly. She also found herself preferring to stay in, even pulling back from Fred, who, to his credit, refused to let her completely isolate herself and forced her to see people.

Hazel moved in a few weeks later. That was no surprise, even with Katie's new anti-social tendencies.

What was a surprise was Rachel's reaction to it. Rachel was living in alone in a tiny bedsit, and seemed quite upset that Katie had not asked her to move in. She didn't say anything after the initial hurt, but Katie could sense that there was more to come.

* * *

"Kate, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

They were lying on the sofa together. Katie didn't say anything, but put her hand on his arm and drew it closer to her.

"Katie?"

"What is it?"

Fred swallowed. "I don't really know how to say it...how to start."

"What is it, Fred?" She looked up at him. "Just...say it."

"Well, I've been thinking about...what would happen if one of us died and the other survived."

Katie went very still. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I died, I'd want you to be happy. I'd want you to move on from me and do everything you want to do with your life, and meet someone who would love you and take care of you...I'd want you to have everything you want, and everything you deserve."

He took a deep breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, if something does happen to me, I want you to carry on with your life."

"As simple as that." Even Katie was taken aback at how bitter her tone was. The tips of Fred's ears went slightly pink, and she felt weirdly guilty.

"I didn't mean-"she sighed. "Look, I knew this talk was coming. It had to. Because, the chances are, one of us won't make it. But, at the same time, I don't want to think about that, like preparing for it will jinx our luck that we're still alive or something. I know it's stupid."

"Yes, but Kate," Fred said gently "We have to talk about this. We have to know how the other one feels. If you- if you-"

His throat constricted. Strange how he could talk about his death so easily, but hers...

"I want the same as you Fred."

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "What I was trying to say was that if you didn't want me to do something, like...I don't know, get married or whatever, then I wouldn't."

"You think I'd be that selfish?" Katie raised her eyebrows. "Fred, we both know that if one of us dies, the other was has full...permission to move on. It doesn't mean that you've forgotten me. I don't think you wanting me to be able to move on is the issue to be honest. The question is, would I even want to carry on without you here?"

**A/N Hmm. Not really happy with this chapter to be honest. I've been fiddling with it for a couple of days but I'm still not quite satisfied with it, so thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers :) x**


	35. Test

_**I set my clocks early/ 'Cause I know I'm always late**- A little less 16 candles, a little more "Touch Me": Fallout Boy_

"Is this ok Katie?"

Katie looked up from her revision notes as Fred walked out of the bedroom buttoning up his shirt. She nodded.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

Fred had finally persuaded Katie out of staying in the flat by agreeing to go to a meal with her Dad, brother and sisters so that said family members could quiz (torture) him on his life and see if he was half acceptable for the baby of the family. Although he was pretty sure that her Father had already decided that he wasn't.

"Nervous? Me?" he scoffed "Don't know the meaning of the word."

"Oh, really?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Kate, Fred Weasley does not get nervous. Ever." He said firmly.

There was a brief pause while Katie stared him down sceptically.

"Alright." He relented "I do get nervous. But there are only three people who make me nervous. It might not surprise you to hear that they are all female?"

Her lips twitched "Oh yes? And who is that then?"

"My mother. My sister." He replied honestly "Oh, and you."

Despite herself, Katie could not keep herself from grinning.

"Oh, glad to see you strike fear into the heart of the man you love, are you?" he huffed.

"Don't be silly." She smiled "You're not a man. You've got the brain of a four year old boy, and I bet he was glad to get rid of it."*

"Ooh, cutting Kate, cutting."

Katie sighed. "Do we have to go? I don't want to."

"Hey, it's your family." He paused "Will all your sisters be there?"

"Yeah, with their boyfriends. And Mike, with his fiancée-"

"The one you all hate?"

"Yeah, her. Also, Dad's bringing Wife Number 2, Michelle, and she's a muggle, so watch what you're saying. Help me up will you?"

He held his hand out and she heaved herself up and made her way to the bedroom to get ready while Fred read the newspaper with an increasing look of disgust.

"Ready!" she called.

"Oh, good." He threw the Daily Prophet on the floor "If we leave now, we should be just on time. Also, Kate, why do you buy that crap? It's all bullsh-wow."

"Do you like it?" She twirled around, showing of her new dress. Fred was looking at her in a familiar fashion.

"Hell _yes_, I like it."

They ended up being seventeen minutes late.

* * *

"Hi everyone." Said Katie once they got to the table. "Sorry we're late, our taxi didn't show up, then when it did we got stuck in traffic..."

"Well, at least you're here now." John said, kissing his daughter on the cheek and give Fred a cursory nod.

"Fred, do you know everyone?" she whispered as they sat.

"I know your Dad and your siblings." He hissed back.

She shrugged "I won't bother introducing you to the others then."

"Can I get you a drink Fred?" Andie Bell leaned over.

"Er, a beer- it's ok, I'll get it."

One of the Bell sister's boyfriends gave him a sympathetic smile.

"It's ok." Andie grinned "It's going on a tab, we'll sort it out at the end."

"Oh, ok." He said gratefully "Beer please, anything's good."

He had a feeling that he was going to need it.

* * *

The curtains were wrenched open and Fred covered his face with his arm as the bright light attacked him. He felt the covers yanked off him and then Katie slam the door.

His head was throbbing and he felt a familiar nausea. He was well aware that Katie was glaring at him, but he didn't think he was quite equipped mentally to deal with the hostile anger radiating off her.

He cracked a very reluctant eye half open. Yep, there she was.

"Hi-" he began to croak.

"Do you have _any_ idea how wasted you were last night?"

He winced at her loud voice, deliberately loud and acidic. "Sorry."

His apology only seemed to enrage her.

"In front of my _family!_"

"Yeah, well...I was nervous!"

He opened both of his eyes. God, the light hurt.

"I thought you didn't _get _nervous?"

"That was before they began the Inquisition." Fred really didn't want this. He had a banging headache and he was _this _close to vomiting. It was definitely one of the worst hangovers he'd suffered in a _long_ time. "Jesus Katie, did you hear them? And you weren't exactly sober, none of you were."

"I'm not the one who threw up in the car park on Amy's very expensive and very new shoes, am I?" she reminded him "Or the one trying to make a good impression."

Fred had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "I'm really sorry, Katie, honestly." He half-groaned. "But I'm so hungover I feel like I might die. Can't that be my punishment?"

"No." Katie snapped. "Fred, I don't think you understand how mad I am at you! It's important to me that my family like you!"

"Even if they didn't know about me for two years and you barely speak to them most of the time." He interjected.

"Well, can you blame me? Do you actually remember what you told Mike- who, may I remind you is my _older brother?_"

"What a charming man he is?" Fred tried hopefully, wracking his brains- although not too much as it hurt.

"No. Try the reason why we were late yesterday."

"Oh _God!_"

"I think you scarred him for life. Luckily I managed to shut you up before you went into any detail. I'm going out. Don't you _dare_ be sick on my carpet, and don't be here when I come back, I'm too pissed off."

With that, she marched out. Fred knew that he should probably try to work out how to get Katie to forgive him, but he was just relieved that it was quiet again and he could try and sleep off the drink.

***I _think _it was Groucho Marx who said that. It's a quote I read somewhere anyway.**


	36. Flowers

**_This is a test, a wake up call/ And a mission to talk/ Shock to the heart, blow to the head/ And a reason to fall- _**_This is a test: Attack! Attack!_

_ ._

_**Katie,**_

_**I'm sorry that I'm such an idiot, but you knew that when we got together, so you should've expected it really.**_

_**Love Fred xxxxxx**_

Katie snorted with laughter and examined the bouquet, shaking her head. Roses. How cliché.

She grabbed a pen and scrawled a note to him.

* * *

Fred was talking to a customer when Katie's owl flew in through the open door. He quickly finished with the customer and hurried out to the back where her screech owl was waiting, clicking his beak.

"Am I still in trouble?" he asked the owl, who blinked in reply.

It had been a week since the meal with Katie's family, but Katie was still, in Fred's opinion, being a stubborn drama queen and refused to speak to him.

Fred was just humouring her with the flowers. He was planning on giving her no more than four days to sulk and then he was breaking into her flat.

He ripped open the note and read it. He frowned at it, and shook his head.

Then he grinned.

_Roses? Get some imagination please, and maybe I'll consider accepting that you're a twat. Katie._

Fred wandered down to the flower shop, humming to himself. The bell chimed as he walked in, fitting, just as he planned, with the final note of the tune.

"Hi Viola." He called cheerfully.

"Hey Fred." Viola's voice came from behind a large set of flowers she was arranging. "Girlfriend forgive you yet?"

"Nope. She said roses were boring." He leaned one elbow on the counter.

"I did tell you."

"I'll just take one flower today." He continued. "See if I can find one that she likes better before I buy a whole bunch."

Viola emerged from the flowers, a leaf in her dark brown hair.

"Lily?" she suggested "They're beautiful- expensive and they remind me of funerals, but beautiful nonetheless."

Fred sent the lily with a note asking if it was less dull.

Katie replied that she preferred colours.

On Tuesday he sent a carnation.

On the Wednesday he sent a freesia.

Thursday was a marigold.

Friday was a tulip.

On Saturday Viola told him to ask one of her friends.

"I don't think Kate really has a favourite flower." Said Fred "I'm not sure she even likes flowers actually."

"Every girl likes flowers Fred." Viola said despairingly. "Go and find out."

* * *

"A- in the words of Leanne Fletcher- a 'bigass daisy thing'. I don't know what that means." Said Fred "She said it was like a gerbil daisy or somethi-"

"A Gerbera Daisy." Viola interrupted. "Colour?"

Fred shrugged and Viola sighed.

"You're useless." She said "No wonder she's still pissed off at you."

* * *

"Your time is up, please put your quills down and remain silent while your exam papers are being collected."

Katie put her quill down, pleased with how her History exam had gone. All week she'd had her exams and every day she'd had a flower from Fred, which had gone into a vase in her bedroom, liking how they all clashed.

But not today. That had surprised her actually. History was her best subject and as she was planning to take it further it was her most important exam.

"How did you find it?" asked her friend who'd sat with her throughout all the catch up classes.

"Not bad." She said, "You?"

"Terrible," the girl groaned "I'm going to fail. I'm so not taking history further, it's just-"

Katie stopped listening at this point. She stopped walking too actually, just narrowed her eyes at Fred who was holding a flower and smiling hopefully at her.

"Is this good enough for you?" he asked, holding out a bright yellow Gerbera daisy. Katie said nothing, just took it and looked down at it. Then she smiled and gave him a kiss.

Fred took that as a yes.


	37. Traps

**Go away/ ****Give me a chance to miss you/ ****Say goodbye/ __****It'll make me want to kiss you...I don't believe Adam and Eve/ Spent every goddamn day together/ If you give me some room there will be room enough for two- **Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely): Pink

Katie dropped her keys onto the bowl on the table.

"Hazel?" she called.

"Nope, just me." Came Fred's voice from the living room.

"You have _got_ to stop coming in like that." Said Katie, irritated. "Especially now that I'm living with Hazel."

"Doesn't Hazel like me then?" Fred replied, appearing in the living room with an exaggerated pout.

"Yes, just not when you're here all the time and walk in without announc- what's that?"

"What's what?"

Katie pointed to the beer in his hand. "You can't just help yourself to stuff in the fridge! Hazel got them for tonight!" she snapped.

"What's tonight?" he asked.

"Girly night in." She said shortly "I told you."

"No you didn't."

"_Yes_, I did." Katie was feeling extremely infuriated. "Rachel and Leanne are coming over."

"Oh, right to talk about me and their boyfriends, right?" he tried to tease.

"Not everything is about you Fred." She said flatly.

"I know- it was a joke." He said, annoyed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

Fred snorted sceptically.

"Oh, leave me alone Fred, I'm not in the mood." She snarled. "I had a really crap shift at work and I just want to chill out before the girls come over."

"Well, if I'm in your way..." He slammed the beer down on the table and marched out.

* * *

"I mean, I love him, but he is _always_ here!" finished Katie.

Her friends pondered what she'd told them.

"Hmm." Leanne said, pretending to stroke an invisible beard. "It seems to me that you and Fred are having a bit of trouble."

"Oh, wow, nice analysis." Said Katie there "Don't suppose you've got any more nuggets of wisdom in that fetching imaginary beard do you?"

"Well, what do we say?" interjected Hazel. "Maybe you just need a bit of space, step back a bit."

"I'm sick of him." Said Katie bluntly "He's always there."

* * *

The air between Fred and Katie was still frosty the next day at dinner at the Burrow. They tried to hide it, but Molly Weasley wasn't fooled.

"So, I hear Phoebe is moving in with Drew." She said cheerily.

"Yeah," Katie attempted to smile. "They want to see if they can live together before they get married."

"Fred's cousin, Eva, is getting married." Said Mrs Weasley, "Oh! And did I mention that Philip and Sara are having another baby?"

Fred mutely shook his head. He just wanted to get out of there.

"Great." He said listlessly.

"So, will you two be next?" Arthur said tactlessly.

Katie stared at him in horror, mouth open, cheeks red, fork halted halfway to her mouth, while Fred gagged on a potato.

"Well- it's- I mean-"stumbled Katie "A bit-early-"

"Yeah- we haven't really- not crossed our minds-"stuttered Fred "Not a priority."

Molly stamped on Arthur's foot under the table. After their years together he understood to mean that he had said or done something wrong. He'd been stamped on so many times that he'd grown to be quite a master at hiding the pain.

"No, you don't want to be thinking about that so young." Molly said, determinedly relaxed. "Pudding anyone?"

* * *

"You were right. I know what's wrong." Katie said urgently "It's the pressure of commitments. It's like, because I'm out of school, and there's a war on, people think we should be getting married and stuff!"

Fred was in the bathroom, so she had to speak quickly.

"So that's why you've been getting so angry!"

"Angry about what?"

Katie and Hazel slowly turned to see Fred leaning against the doorway.

"I have to go." Hazel squeaked, and she took off, not wanting to get caught up in one of their infamous rows.

"Angry about _what?_" he repeated.

"Oh, god, Fred, you know full well what I'm talking about." Sighed Katie "Let's not make it more uncomfortable that it already is."

"Uncomfortable?" he echoed innocently "Why, what could be uncomfortable? You're always mad at me for one reason or another, this is _normal_ Katie."

"I'm not _mad_, you twat!" she cried in exasperation "I'm feeling _trapped!_"

"By _what?_" he said loudly "God Katie, you called me flaky, but you're the flakiest person I know!"

"By you!" she yelled "You're always here! Or I'm at yours. Or we're out together. Or we're meant to moving in together, or getting married or having kids! It's too much!"

"_I'm_ not putting pressure on you!" he shouted back "I'm here because I thought that people who loved each other spent time together! Sorry for having such an old-fashioned idea!"

"Yeah, not every second together Fred!"

"Oh, yeah, because we spend every second together!"

"Bloody feels like it! God! Just give me some room to _breathe_ would you?"

"Oh, you want me to go do you?" he bellowed.

"YES!" she screamed back, pointing her wand at the door so that it flew open.

There was a _bang_. A vase near Katie exploded. She ducked the shards, and when she looked up, he had gone.


	38. Drowning

_**The faster we're falling/ **__**We're stopping and stalling/ **_**We're running in circles again/ ****Just as things we're looking up/ __****You said it wasn't good enough/ **_**But still we're trying one more time/ **__**Maybe we're just trying to hard/ **_**When really it's closer than it is too far/ __****Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep/ **_**All the thoughts in my head, instead of going under**- In Too Deep: Sum 41_

Fred stormed into the shop.

"Katie." George said straight away.

"How did you guess?" Fred said bitterly.

"She's the only person who makes you look like that." replied George. "Crazy." He clarified as Fred raised his eyebrows.

"Well, she drives me crazy." said Fred in a low voice "And not just because she's a mad bitch. Because even though she's a mad bitch, I love her."

"Oh, bloody hell Fred." said George "You're in a bit deep now to start backing out now aren't you?"

"You would think so." Fred snapped, acid in his tone. "But apparently I'm "pressuring" Katie. She wants us to have a bit of space."

"Are you guys breaking up again?" moaned George "Am I going to have to put up with you moping around _again_?"

Fred shrugged "I don't know." He muttered hopelessly "I just don't know."

* * *

"Has he gone?" asked Hazel hesitantly, poking her head around the now closed door.

"Yep." Katie was curled up on the sofa, determinedly watching the TV.

"And...?"

"He broke your vase." She said dully "He was really angry."

"Did you break up?"

Katie shook her head. "Not that I know of. Not yet. But I told him I needed space."

Hazel sighed "You are actually mental Katie Bell. Most girls _want_ their boyfriends to commit."

"Well," Katie said, raising her coffee cup in a salute "That's me. Mental."

"What are you going to do?" asked Hazel, sitting down.

Katie shrugged "You know," she said conversationally "In 2 and a half years, I've never spent a proper Christmas with Fred."

There was a pause. Hazel nodded slowly, not sure where Katie was going with this.

"And I don't think we'll be together for this one either."

Hazel watched her friend miserably switch channels.

"Kate?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Why don't you say sorry?"

"Why should I?" Katie snapped, then deflated as she caught Hazel's eye.

Katie sulked for twelve minutes, then followed her advice.

* * *

The bell _ting_ed as Katie walked in. George looked up and smiled. "Hey Katie."

"Alright?" she tried to return the smile. "Is Fred here?"

George jerked his thumb at the door behind him "Store room."

Katie went through, nervous about how he was going to react. What he was going to say. What _she_ was going to say.

"Hello." She said in a small voice. He was sitting on the back step smoking- something he only did when he was unhappy or stressed.

He didn't reply.

"Fred?" she tried "Can we talk?"

"I thought you didn't want to see me."

"That's not what I said!"

"You told me to go!"

"Yes, but I didn't mean in!" she cried in despair, feeling her eyes suddenly sting with tears. "I didn't think you'd actually-"

She broke off at the look on Fred's face.

"So, you think I'll just stay with you, even when you scream at me?" he said, his voice dripping with disdain. He selected his words, wanting to them to hit home, to hurt. "You think I need you that much, do you Katie? Well, I've got news for you- I don't."

She bit her lip. "I'm sorry Fred!" she managed through the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry about what I said. I'm sorry I told you to go. I don't want you to leave."

He angrily stubbed the cigarette out on the stone step and stood up. She shrunk back.

"I love you Fred." She said in a whisper. "Please, can't we put this behind us?"

"You started it!" he pointed out.

"I know!" She nearly shouted, but caught herself, frustrated. "But, please, Fred, there's no point in splitting up when we love each other, is there?"

She moved cautiously closer and took his hand. "Please? Another chance?"

Reluctantly. Fred nodded, just as George poked his head around.

"Fred, owl for you." He said. Fred kissed Katie briefly on the forehead and went out to the front.

"All made up?" asked George.

Katie nodded "Of course." She said lightly.

But inside she wasn't so sure.

**************A/N Cheery New Year chapter...hmm. Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have a happy new year! :D **


	39. Starvation

_**It gives me thrills to wind you up/ **__**My fingertips are holding on to the cracks in our foundation/ **__**and I know that I should let go/ **__**but I can't/ **__**And every time we fight I know it's not right/ **__**every time that you're upset and I smile/ I know that I should forget, but I can't**- Foundations: Kate Nash_

Ewok flew in and dropped down onto the table in front of Katie and Hazel. Katie untied the note. It was from Alicia.

_Dear Chewie,_

_I'm going mad with boredom. There's nothing to DO! I've read all my books. Gigi brings me new ones when he visits but I want COMPANY! I'm so bored of my parents too. They're driving me insane. There's never anything new to talk about, and they don't know anything about anything..._

_PLEASE come and visit me. PLEASE. Bring Fifi if you want. If you're not rowing still...either way get your butt here. I miss you. I am literally on my knees begging you. COME AND SEE ME!_

_Muchas love_

_Han xxx_

Katie snorted with laughter at Alicia's nicknames for the two of them, thinking briefly of those summer holidays when they'd visit each other and watch the films in one night. At least they could assume that none of the Death Eaters would have a clue what was going on- and even if they did they'd never say it.

_Dear Han,_

_Why am I the hairy one? No fair! Fifi is a knob, but I guess he'll tag along. See you soon._

_Love_

_Chewbacca xx_

* * *

Four days later the twins and Katie stood outside a small house somewhere in the middle of Kent. It materialised out of nowhere and George let them in.

"ALICIA!" he hollered, once the door was closed.

"Hello George, how're you?" Alicia's mum ambled by "Oh, hello Katie."

Katie smiled and nodded, just as Alicia appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Kate!" she cried, running down the stairs "Oh my god, I've missed you!"

Katie flung her arms around her friend "God, I'd forgotten how short you are." She grinned.

Alicia stuck her tongue out. "I'm so starved of human contact I'm going to ignore that."

"What about me?" George said indignantly "I'm always here!"

"I brought...stuff." announced Katie, holding up a bag. "Books, videos, music, oh and Hazel sent a pair of shoes- you're 4 right? Because it turns out Hazel isn't..."

Babbling away, Katie and Alicia made their way into the kitchen, the twins following; Fred a little moodily.

"Lee and Angie are coming around soon." Alicia said happily. "I just so excited about seeing you all."

Lee and Angelina turned up soon after and the six of them sat around. Alicia and her mum had prepared food so they ate while talking.

No one commented on the fact that Fred and Katie sat on opposite sides of the table.

The evening wore on and somehow they ended up playing Pictionary in teams.

Katie was drawing, Fred and Lee were guessing.

"A rat!" yelled Fred "A rat!"

"A horse!"

"A horse? How is that a bloody horse? It's a rat, look at it!"

Katie shook her head, stabbing paper with her pen repeatedly.

"A rat! A dinosaur! A teapot!" shouted Lee wildly, then shrugged. "Don't know, give up."

The timer tinged.

"It's a rat!" said Fred, frustrated. "Why didn't you give us the point?"

"Because," Katie said tightly "It's a flaming _mouse_."

Fred gaped at her. "How is that a bloody mouse?"

"In that it looks like a rodent and as 'rat' wasn't the right answer by process of elimination it had to be a mouse!" she snapped.

"More wine?" Alicia said hastily.

Both took a glass, ignoring each other. The rest of the night wore on, Alicia avoided more games.

Katie was chatting to Lee and glared at Fred when he came over, stopping mid-laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Fred jealously.

"Nothing." She said lightly "Lee was just telling me some stories about work."

There was a pause. Fred narrowed his eyes and Lee shifted uncomfortably.

* * *

"I was NOT flirting with Lee!"

"Oh, come off it." Said Fred disgustedly, "I saw you flicking your hair and practically wetting yourself at his stupid jokes..."

"Just because he's funnier than you." She said spitefully.

Fred's cheeks flushed red. She saw, even though they were laying side by side, not touching. A few weeks ago they would barely have closed the door before they fell on each other. What had happened? What had broken between them?

She rolled over and turned the light off. "Night."

"Night." His voice was tight in the darkness, strained with anger and hurt, and she felt the queasiness of guilt in her stomach.

She moved closer and kissed his neck. He didn't respond and she moved her kisses up to his jawline.

"Oh, now you want to be my friend." He said grumpily, but as she pulled away he ran his fingers through her hair and down to cup the back of her neck, then kissed her hard.

**A/N I'm not sure that I replied to all the reviews last time, so if I didn't reply to you, sorry! But thank you :) **


	40. Spiral

_I'm in love with the girl I hate_

_She enjoys pointing out_

_Every bad thing about me_

_I'm in love with a critic and a sceptic_

_A traitor, I'd trade her in a second _

"...and then you get an electric shock if you lose."

Fred looked expectantly at Katie. "What do you think then?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Hmmm."

"Hmmm?"

"Well, it's not exactly the best idea you've had is it? It's not very original..."

"So, you don't like it."

"Well, I didn't say that, I'm just not sure if it'll do very well, that's all. I mean, Michael had a game like that when we were kids-"

"Look, Katie, if you don't like it, just say; you're not going to offend me."

"Well, clearly I am, because all I've said is it's not that original and you're getting all spiky and annoyed."

"No, I'm listening to you, you don't think it's very good. That's fine."

"No, that isn't what I'm saying- oh forget it, whatever. Yeah, it's great Fred, I think the kids will love it. Whatever you think. You never listen to my opinion, I don't know why you bother to ask for it."

_She's a back seat driver, a drama provider_

_An instant update of the world_

_She's a first class liar_

_A constant forgetter_

_She's attractive but bitter_

"Are you coming round tonight?" she asked "We could watch a film or something."

"Oh, sorry Kate, I can't." He lied. He was still annoyed after their row over the electric shock game."I'm not feeling very well- a bit sick."

"Oh, well I could come round to yours if you want, look after you a bit?"

"No, no, it's ok." He said hastily "I'll probably just go to sleep anyway, so I'll hopefully be ok for tomorrow."

There was a loaded pause. Then, with an effort she said "Ok, I'll see you soon then. Feel better."

_Take off your shoes, come in the room,_

_And baby, let's try not to argue_

_Turn off the light, turn on the radio_

_How can we fight when I'm too busy loving you?_

It felt like the only time that they weren't screaming at each other, in the dark, tearing off their clothes. But for Fred it could have been any girl there with him, and he wouldn't have known.

After, Katie lay next to Fred and thought that she loved him, but then something would spark off a new row and the hate would wash over her again.

_Here I am_

_There you go, again, again_

_We will not_

_Ever be eighteen again, again_

"No, Katie, don't leave, please." He pleaded "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

_And I'm worn out fighting_

_And every night you leave crying_

"Don't touch me!" she growled, pulling her arm violently away and angrily wiping her eyes.

_And I, I could use some time_

"I just need to go home" she said softly.

_Here I am, there you go, again_

He watched her twist into nothing, sobbing.

_So here I am, and I'm dying_

_I'm waiting for, I'm waiting for you_

_Come back, come back to me_

_And I'll take you gladly_

_Well I'll take you any day_

Without thinking he twisted too and appeared in Katie's flat. She was curled up on the floor crying and Hazel had her arms around her.

"It's ok, Kates, it ok," she was murmuring "He's just a guy. Don't cry over him, he's not worth it-"

"Not worth it!" he demanded.

"No!" snapped Hazel, glaring up at him "Look at what you're doing!"

"It's not just me-"he began.

"Shut _up_!" moaned Katie "Hazel, please just go, I think it's better if you don't get caught up in this inevitable row."

"No," Fred said wearily "I don't want a row, Katie, I want you."

"Well you don't act like it." She replied as Hazel reluctantly walked out.

_Did you scream enough to make her cry?_

_It's a turnaround, _

_Turn around,_

_Baby don't return to me_

_If you think_

_That I'm not worth your time_

"I'm sick of rows Fred, I can't deal with them anymore." She sounded exhausted, even to herself. "Maybe we shouldn't do it anymore. Any of it."

"You want to break up?" he said loudly.

"What else is there to do?" she cried "All we do is fight!"

"So you just want to give up?"

"Give up? Give up on _what?_ This is the worst relationship since the dawn of time Fred! It's barely a relationship at all! And its making me hate you!"

"You hate me?" he yelled, furious suddenly.

"Sometimes I do!" Katie shouted "When you're stubborn and you scream and act like a complete bastard I do!"

Fred was so angry he could barely think anymore. He raised his hand as though to hit her.

"Go on!" she goaded, stepping closer.

"Don't-"

"Go on, hit me you bastard!" she screamed.

He clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. The temptation to reach for his wand was almost too hard to resist. Somehow, just like a child, his anger manifested itself as magic, even without his wand, and the light bulb smashed.

"Shut UP!" he bellowed "Shut up! God, you're such a bitch sometimes! Do you try to make me like this? Does it make you feel happy? Flirting with my friends-"

"I DON'T!"

"Yeah, you do! Does it make you feel good?" he jeered, feeling sick at all the spite he was feeling towards her. "Make you feel better about yourself?"

"Oh, you are- you such a _twat._" She snarled. "Is it any wonder I can't stand to look at your face?"

"Then why are you still here?"

"This is my bloody flat! But you know what? That's it. I quit. I can't do this anymore. It's over."

She turned to go.

"Where are you going?" he called after her "This is your bloody flat, remember?"

"My sister's." She said flatly. "Don't follow me Fred. I want nothing to do with you."

**Song: She's a Lady: Forever the Sickest Kids **


	41. Great Strength

_**Now I see everything a little more clearly/ The bad ways, the good things/ was this every good thing for me?/.../ You're just a phone call away/ Every day you seem further away (your just a phone call away)/ I do my best to throw my pride aside and apologize, cut myself down a notch (Every day you seem further away)/ And I know I said some things that hurt/ Through ninety seven missed calls I'll finally get over you**- Phone Call: Forever the Sickest Kids._

Katie banged hard on the door.

"Who is it?" Alicia called through the door.

"It's me, Katie." She said desperately "Can I come in?"

"Hold on." There was a couple of clunks, then the door opened. Alicia gaped at her friend who had red rimmed eyes, make up smeared down her face and a wild look upon her face. "What the-"

Katie pushed by "Is anyone else here?"

"Just George." Alicia said, grabbing Katie by the arms, a million terrible ideas running through her head "Katie, what is it? Is it the Death Eaters?"

"George? Oh, no, I don't want to see him, he hates me!"

"Wha- no he doesn't! Kate, what's happened? You're scaring me!"

"Well, he will when he hears what I've done?"

"For god's sake, what?"

Katie swallowed, hard. "Well I think, _I think_, I've just broken up with his brother."

"Fred?" gasped Alicia.

"No, Percy." Katie snapped "Yes, Fred!"

"Hold on. Get in here a second." Alicia bundled Katie into a cupboard. Katie stood there, feeling numb. With a hint of stupidity that she was in a cupboard. She pressed her ear to the door and heard what she assumed was George leaving.

"Ok," Alicia opened the cupboard and yanked Katie out, leading her to the kitchen and sitting her down. She plonked two glasses and a bottle of half empty wine on the table. She poured the two drinks, and sat down herself. She passed Katie a drink, looked her straight in the eye and said one word.

"Explain."

* * *

There was silence in the kitchen when Katie finished.

"Shit." Said Alicia eventually. "How are you feeling now?"

"Sad. Angry. Relieved." Katie said honestly. "We haven't been happy, Alicia, not for ages. Even on my birthday we had a massive row. I've never cried so much in my life."

* * *

A week or so passed, Fred wasn't exactly sure. This wasn't like the last time they'd split up. Last time he was trying to push past the hurt, move on ASAP. This time he wallowed, thinking it all over, like pressing on a bruise.

He missed her. He loved her. He knew that much. He wrote letters to her, begging letters, angry letters, letters that simply read 'I love you', but they all invariably ended up in the fire.

It took all his will power not to get in touch and beg her for a fresh start. But he knew that they couldn't do that. Not now. It wasn't good for them. Too much had happened, too much had been said for them to go back.

At least, that was what he was trying to believe.

November, at last, ended, ushering in December. The end of the year. The end of everything.

Day by day the bruise got a little less painful, but Fred couldn't help but press on it, even as the temptation to write, or, god forbid, actually turn up at her apartment faded.

* * *

He was in a small corner shop clutching a bottle of water and a newspaper when he saw her. She was staring straight at him. He nearly dropped his stuff, but composed himself and went over to her.

"Hi." He said softly

"Hey."

_Well this is sufficiently awkward._

"How're you?" she asked.

"Oh, fine, fine. Yourself?"

"I'm ok..." There was a pause. "And how's the shop?"

"It's fine, going well..."

They fell silent. A month ago they'd been shouting at each, never running out of things to hurl at each other. Now they couldn't even make small talk.

Fred could feel himself sinking into depression. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Katie had mumbled a goodbye and dashed out of the shop. Fred tried to swallow the burning in his throat, and wished that he's never even met Katie Bell, let alone loved her.


	42. Pain

**_Why are these lights so bright?/ Did we get hitched last night?/ Dressed up like Elvis/ Why am I wearing your class ring?/.../You got me into this/ Information overload, situation lost control/ Send out an SOS- _**_Waking up in Vegas: Katy Perry._

Katie's bedroom door burst open. She looked up from her book to see Leanne, flanked by Hazel, Rachel, Angelina and even Alicia.

"Hello." said Katie curiously "What's going on?"

The five of them marched in. Hazel and Angelina began ransacking the wardrobe, Rachel plonked a bag of make up on the desk and Alicia plugged in a pair of hair straighteners, wielding them like a sword.

"Hello Katie."

"Ok, Leanne that was creepy and threatening."

"Good." She said bluntly "Katie, it's time you had fun. You're young. You're hot. You're single. And you have friends who double as personal stylists and dancers."

"I don't want to come out." She replied automatically. "And Alicia, you're meant to be in hiding."

"Tonight Katie, the mood is fuck it." Rreplied Alicia. "Besides, we're going to an underground club, I doubt the Death Eaters are going to be worrying about me."

"I don't want to go to a club." moaned Katie "Leave me alone."

"No." Leanne said firmly. "You're going to have fun tonight, whether you like it or not."

* * *

"Lee, I really don't think-"

"Fred, shut up."

"But I don-"

"I said shut up."

"Lee!"

"Fred!" Lee looked exasperated "You need a lads night out. Me, You, George and Oliver. Grab your wallet."

Fred looked unconvinced. "Fine, I'll go." He said unwillingly. "But I'm not hooking up with any random girls like you and Oll do."

"I thought you said you were glad you weren't with Katie anymore?" accused Oliver.

"I said I was glad I didn't have to go through the rows anymore." Fred said crossly "Not that I want to sleep around."

* * *

Katie and her friends were over by the bar when Fred walked in with George, Lee and Oliver.

"Hey it's George" Alicia shrieked. A lightweight at the best of times, she had already consumed a lot of drinks...free, courtesy of Hazel's flirtation with the barman.

Katie seized Leanne's wrist. "Did you know he was coming tonight?" she hissed angrily in her ear.

"Yes." Leanne nodded defiantly. "And it's not important. We're not with them. You don't have to go near them. "

Katie scowled. "Oh, yeah, because they're going to stay away from us all night." She spun round angrily , just in time to catch the barman's eye.

"You being served?"

"JD and coke please." She said grumpily. This was not going to be as fun as she'd dared let herself hope.

* * *

"Dude, dance with someone!" Oliver pushed Fred slightly. "Stop being boring."

Fred shrugged "I don't feel like it."

"Come on, you don't have to dance with any girls if you don't want to." Lee said. "Let's get another drink and then get up on the dancefloor."

Reluctantly, Fred pushed himself away from the wall. "Oh, alright then."

Lee beamed and the three of them made their way over to the bar- or at least they began to before they were waylaid by a couple of girls.

"Fred?" one of the girls squinted in the dark.

"Viola?"

"Hello! How've you been? How's your girlfriend?"

Fred stomach flipped. "Oh, we broke up." He tried to sound as though he couldn't care less, but he wasn't sure he'd pulled it off.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said. "Coming to dance?"

He glanced at Lee who raised his eyebrows, and then smiled at Viola. "Sure," he replied "Why not?"

* * *

"I'm just going for a cigarette!" he shouted in Viola's ear. She nodded and moved closer to Oliver, who was eyeing her in a way that made Fred suspect he had decided on his next conquest.

Fred fumbled in his pockets for his cigarettes as he made his way out of the door, nodding to the bouncers. He was surprised to realise that he was actually having a pretty good evening. He lit the cigarette and took a long drag of it. There were only a couple of them left in the packet- he wouldn't buy anymore after that.

"Come on, it's alright, just keep moving-"

"I don't wanna..."

Fed turned- he recognised that slur...

Katie was in the arms of some guy he recognised from Hogwarts- he narrowed his eyes when he realised it was that arrogant player, Cormac McLaggen. It looked like he was having to physically drag her along- would he really stoop that low?

He felt a rush of anger and marched up to him. "Hey, what's going on here?" he said roughly.

McLaggen looked up. "Oh, Weasey, thank god." He hoisted Katie up a bit more "I just found her collapsed under a table, on her own, thought she should get some air. I looked around for her friends, but I couldn't see them."

Fred glared at him. "Oh, really?"

McLaggen looked taken aback. "Yeah- what, d'you think I should have left her there? I sent my mate to go and look for Leanne or someone-"

Just as he said that Hazel and Leanne burst out of the door.

"Kate! Where the hell- oh hi, Fred." Leanne looked surprised. "What's going on?"

"McLaggen was just getting Katie to some air." Fred said shortly.

"Oh- thanks, Cormac." Hazel's glance flicked from Katie to Fred to Leanne. "We should get her home-"

In a split second Fred made up his mind.

"I'll take her." He said, throwing his unsmoked cigarette to the ground. "You guys go back in and tell George I've taken her home."

"Fred you don't-"

"_I'll take her."_

_

* * *

_

Katie woke up with her head pounding and groaned. She slid her hand under the covers and found that she was wearing a massive t shirt that was definitely not hers and groaned again.

She opened her eye a crack, realised whose bed she was in, and groaned even louder.

Fred was boiling the kettle when Katie stumbled in, bleary eyed and clutching at her hair.

"Morning." He said formally. "How're you feeling?"

"Like hell." Katie moaned. "How- how did I get here?"

"I brought you here." He said "You were practically passed out- McLaggen was actually helping you instead of being a dick...is that ok?"

He suddenly looked worried. She waved it away with her hand. "No, that's fine...thank you."

She suddenly looked up at him "We didn't...do...anything...icky... did we?"

"Define icky..."

"Oh, god!"

"Relax Katie." Fred forced himself to laugh. "We didn't sleep together if that's what you mean. I slept on the couch."

"Oh, you could've slept...well...thanks anyway." She glanced at the floor. There was an awkward silence.

"Coffee?"

"Yes please."

Fred turned away, glad to have something to do rather than look at her. He didn't want to tell her about how carefully he'd undressed her, afraid she'd get the wrong idea, how he'd gently laid her down, and tucked her in, and, unable to resist, stroked her hair, and kissed her softly on the tip of her nose. And there was no way he was going to mention that, as he'd done that, she'd woken up.

"_Fred?" she sounded so confused._

"_Yeah? It's ok, go to sleep now."_

"_Fred-"_

"_Shhh..."_

"_Fred, I love you."_

_She leaned up and gave him one quick kiss._

"_I-I love you too Kate." He'd whispered, but she'd already fallen into unconsciousness._

And she definitely wasn't going to tell him that she remembered it too.


	43. Give Up

**_You were wild and crazy/ Just so frustrating/ Intoxicating, complicated/ Got away by some mistake and now/ I miss screaming and fighting/ and kissing in the rain/ It's 2am and I'm cursing your name/ I'm so in love that I acted insane/ And that's the way I loved you-_**_The way I loved you: Taylor Swift._

"Katie Bell?"

Katie turned around to see who had just said her name. "Tucker?"

Her brother's friend grinned "The one and only." He engulfed her in a hug "Well, well, little Kates, you _have_ grown up."

"Shut up." She smiled "How are you anyway?"

"Oh, you know. Surviving." He tried to smile. Katie took his hand.

"I heard about your sister." she whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"Well it wasn't your fault." He said, then made a real effort to smile. "How about you?"

Katie shrugged "Eh. Okay, I guess." She lowered her voice "Still clinging onto my job at at any rate."

"What d'you mean?" Tucker asked.

"Well, look how empty it is in here." She pointed out "We're not exactly getting many customers. Two girls have been made redundant already."

"What will you do if you lose your job?"

She shrugged "Try and find something else, though there isn't much out there. Are you still at the Prophet?"

"Me? God, no. Left ages ago...I'm at a crappy local one now. It's no fun, but at least it pays the bills and gets me away from trouble."

Tom came out from the back and Katie hastily resumed scrubbing the tables.

"Why don't you do that by magic?" asked Tucker.

"Because then I'd have nothing else to do."

"Apart from talk to me. We need to catch up. Are you still with your bloke- Fred?"

Her insides gave a jolt. "No," she made an effort to keep her tone normal "We broke up. How's Suzanne?"

"No idea, we broke up months ago and I haven't heard from her since."

"Oh." She smiled "Maybe we should catch up, properly."

"Okay, I tell you what, why don't we go out to dinner? When are you free?"

Katie didn't answer immediately. She wanted to go out to dinner with Tucker...but she wasn't sure if she wanted a _date_...

"Katie?" Her indecision showed in her face.

"This doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to be."

She made up her mind. It was time to give up on Fred.

* * *

Katie snorted into her wine and Tucker sniggered loudly, people staring oddly at them.

"I think I've had a bit too much wine." giggled Katie "A waiter tripping up should not be _that_ funny."

"Oh well." Tucker said "Have another glass."

"Hey, what, are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Maybe." He smirked

"Mike will totally kick your arse if you try to take advantage you know." She warned, hiding her smile.

"From what I hear, you don't let anyone take advantage. Michael told me about the time that you got suspended for kicking a Slytherin in the balls."

"He tried to feel me up!" she protested, going scarlet.

He laughed "How's Leanne doing? Do you still see her? God, you two used to annoy me and Mike so much, spying all the time."

"Well she fancied you."

The night wore on. They finished at dinner and he apparated to Katie's flat- it was no longer safe to take leisurely walks home.

"I've had a great evening Katie." He smiled "I'm glad you decided to come out with me tonight."

"Me too." She smiled back "The best night I've had in ages actually."

There was a pause, then he leaned down and gently kissed her on the side of her mouth.

"I'll see you soon." He promised, then apparated away.

* * *

Fred couldn't help missing Katie, or feeling insanely jealous of Gerard Tucker. He felt an absurd anger that _he_ got to hear her laugh, hear her sing (though badly), talk to herself, kiss her lips.

For her part, Katie enjoyed the time that she spent with Tucker, determinedly putting that drunken night where she'd told Fred that she loved him firmly out of her mind.

Around Christmas Katie bumped into him while buying Christmas cards. "Hi Fred." She said, resolutely casual although her palms were sweaty.

"Hey Katie." Fred made sure he acted as if he was completely over their train-wreck excuse for a relationship. They made small talk, then departed in relief. Katie pushed the re-emerging feelings down, deeper. They would never be anything more than friends. Never. Friendship was a lot less painful than love. She had to accept it.

Katie and Fred would never be a couple again.

**A/N Sorry, another insanely busy lot of weeks- for those of you who reviewed the last chapter thank you so much! I'm sorry if I didn't reply to you, but I've had a lot on. Easter holidays now though yay updates :D**

**P.P.S Or not. I've been trying to upload this for about a week now, and FF don't seem to be paying any attention to my angry emails . It's been letting me update other stories, but not this one. GAH! If you're reading this, its a freaking miracle.**


	44. Eyes

**_I can see it in your eyes/ You feel the same about us as I/ There's no way the truth can be disguised_**_- Your eyes don't lie: David Archuleta. _

To Leanne,

Merry Christmas! (I hope you like your _very expensive_ present ;) )

Love, Katie xxx

To Alicia and George,

Have a great Christmas!

Love, Kates xxx

She was sitting in front of the TV with a pile of written Christmas cards and one open one on her lap, pen poised with indecision. Should she write Fred a Christmas card? She was giving everyone else one. But wouldn't it be weird to give her ex one?

She mentally shook herself. She was being silly. She wrote, pressing heavily on the card, still wavering.

To Fred,

Merry Christmas!

But how to sign it? She wrote 'love' to all her family and friends because she did love them. But she didn't dare look at how she felt about Fred. She didn't want to know.

"See, this is what happens when you try to stay friends with your ex." She muttered to herself. With a groan she lay sideways on the sofa, then yelped as she leaned on her cards and was poked by an unruly corner.

She pushed the cards off the seat and curled up, her eyes on the film on the TV for a few minutes, thinking.

"Oh for God's sake Katherine." She told herself sternly. "Just write the damn thing."

* * *

He could feel his insides tighten as he read it. _Love _Katie. _Love _Katie. What did she mean by that? He'd seen Alicia and George's card and she'd written _love_ to them as well, but did it mean different things?

No, it had to be friendly love. It couldn't be more. She was the one that had ended it. She was the one moving on with Gerard Tucker...

He groaned and put the card up. He barely ever got round to writing cards himself, so she wouldn't expect one back. At least, he hoped she wouldn't. Well, either way, he'd find out at Lee's New Year party. She was bound be going. Every witch or wizard under the age of thirty seemed to be going. Except Death Eaters of course.

She's probably bring her _boyfriend_ along too.

* * *

Katie was getting a little worried. She'd had no reply from her card to Fred. She didn't know if it was because he was too lazy to write one, or because he had freaked out over the _Love Katie. _She prayed it was the first.

"Hey, Katie, what's this I heard about you hooking up with Tuck?" Her brother poked her in the rib, jerking her out of her thoughts. "My little sister and my old friend!"

"There's no need to get sentimental Mikey, it's nothing serious." She said dismissively, not thinking.

"Ahh." He tapped the side of his nose "Just a getting-over-Fred exercise then is it?"

"No!" she blushed "I didn't mean it like- anyway, I _am_ over Fred."

"Yeah, sounds like it." He said "Come off it Katie, I'm your brother, you can tell me."

She sighed. "I've only been on a few dates with him, it's hardly marriage is it?"

"Fair point." Michael surveyed her seriously. "Don't lead him on though, will you Kate?"

She glared "Who do you think I am, Pheebs?

"I heard that." Phoebe called over and Michael grinned.

"No, I know." He said "Just- be careful, okay?"

* * *

"Katie, Tucker, hi." Lee threw his arms around them, already drunk. "Welcome to-" he lowered his voice to a conspicuously loud drunken whisper "_Potterwatches_ New Year party." He resumed to normal volume "Remember what you see and what you do and who you do doesn't go past this door."

"Shut up Lee, this isn't LA." snorted Katie, pushing past and grabbing a mince pie. It was already full, but, typically, the first person she laid eyes on was Fred. She smiled awkwardly, then disappeared into the crowds.

Tucker has disappeared, so she helped herself to a glass of wine and decided to make her way over to a corner where she could see Leanne and Rachel.

She was nearly there when she tripped over her own feet and stumbled, clutching onto the nearest body.

"Hi Katie!" It was George "Looking for Fred are we? He's just here."

"No, I-" George pulled her around and gave her a small shove so that she was standing in front of a surprised looking Fred.

"Hey." He smiled "You okay?"

"Er, yeah." She cleared her throat "Did you have a nice Christmas?"

He shrugged. "It was alright. Thanks for the card by the way, sorry I was too useless to write any of my own."

Relief surged through her. So he hadn't freaked out. Or he had, but he was hiding it from her, which was just as good an option.

"Oh, it's okay." She grinned. "Mine were last minute too-"

"Hello Fred and Katie!"

The pair of them looked at George who was being suspiciously cheery.

"What?" Katie asked, knowing intuitively that he was planning something.

"Mistletoe." He beamed, pointing above their heads, then making his escape as they both slowly glanced up.

They looked back down, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. Fred shrugged. Although he was acutely aware of Tucker somewhere in the room, he couldn't resist ducking down and placing a kiss on her cheek.

She made a slight movement, as though she was going to kiss him properly, but then stiltedly moved her head back, staring at the floor. She couldn't make eye contact. If she did, she'd be lost. He'd be able to see those feelings that she shouldn't have welling up and spilling over.

He coughed nervously "Happy New Year Katie." He said weakly. Amazing how one touch made him forget about the rows and hate and want to pull her to him.

"Happy New Year Fred." Reluctantly, she looked up, unable to help herself, and their eyes met. Fred couldn't look away. He was staring greedily at her, as if he'd never see her again. He wanted her, so badly. She was staring back, fighting the rising emotion, she couldn't do this, she couldn't-

Suddenly there was a huge explosion, screams. Death Eaters blasted in, wands aloft.

Katie broke eye contact and ducked between two nearby girls. "Tuck!" she yelled. Where had he gone?

"Kate!" She turned, confused, her head searching for that familiar voice. Hazel and Leanne were gripping each other. "Have you seen Rachel?"

"No, I'm looking for-Tucker!" She dived into the chaos, leaving Leanne and Hazel to apparate. She seized the back of his shirt and twisted.

"Get off me you bastard!" shouted Tucker, wrenching himself free and turning his wand on Katie.

"Tuck, it's me!" She put her hands up "Don't-!"

"Sorry," he said, breathing heavily. "I thought you were-one of them."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Where are we?"

"My local park." She said "I didn't want to go straight back home in case they followed or someth- Fred!"

"What?" Tucked whipped round, bemused.

"No, no- I just ran off and left him." She said frantically.

Tucker closed his eyes. "Okay, this is really, really terrible timing, but I need to say something, and please don't interrupt."

"Okay..." she said slowly.

"You said to me that you want some fun. I don't think you do." He paused "I think you want Fred."

"But-"

He held up his hand. "You said you wouldn't interrupt." He reminded her. "I saw him kiss you. I saw you gazing at each other. You still love _him_ Katie. I'm not saying you're going to get back together, or if that's even the best thing for you, but right now you're not ready to be in a relationship. While you're still crazy about him, nothing can happen here." He took a breath "And so that's why I'm walking away."


	45. Cat

_**I've been here, before, a few times/ And I'm quite aware we're dying/ And your hands, they shake, with goodbyes/ And I'll take you back, if you'll have me**__- Always: Blink-182_

Alicia-

It's probably a good idea that you didn't come to the party, but I expect you'll hear all about that.

I'm single again. This one thinks I'm still in love with the other. I'm not sure if he's right or not. I miss you. I wish you were here to help sort my messed up head out.

K xxxx

* * *

Katie pushed her soaking wet fringe out of her eyes. She'd got caught in the rain on her way home. Usually she'd apparate back, but Death Eaters had set up monitors for apparition to keep an eye on everyone.

Suddenly an umbrella appeared over her head.

"Need a hand?"

She looked up. "Fred! Oh...hi. Thanks."

He shrugged "No problem. How come you haven't got a brolly?"

She half smiled, ruefully. "Thought I'd risk it."

There was little chance to talk as they half-jogged through the downpour, but Katie could feel her heart thudding nervously, getting louder as they made their way up the steps to her door.

"Do you want a coffee?" she asked, unsure what she wanted his answer to be.

"Nah- I'm alright thanks." He said, turning to go.

"Your shirt is soaked!" she exclaimed. He must have been holding the umbrella mainly over her. "Come in, come in."

_Wait- is this a good idea? Could get awkward..._Fred hesitated, but, seeing that she had her determined face on, decided that resistance was futile.

"I'll grab you a dry shirt." She called as she went into the kitchen. "I've got one in my room."

"No, I'm okay, thanks." He called back, adding under his breath "Not wearing some other bloke's shirt, thank _you._"

"Who said it was another bloke's?"Fred jumped; he hadn't realised she was standing in the doorway.

"What?"

"The shirt." She said patiently. "It's yours."

"Oh." He didn't really know what to say. It seemed that she did though.

"Why did you think that it would be another guy's?"

Her eyebrows were raised in a way that made Fred think about his answer rather than blurting out some crass comment about Gerard Tucker. "Well," he said carefully. "Because you were acting all awkward and embarrassed."

"I was embarrassed because I thought you might wonder why I still had your shirt." She said quickly, her cheeks turning pink.

"Is it that green one?" he asked "I've been looking everywhere for that!"

"Sorry, I had it."

"It's okay." He grinned, a glint in his eye and hoping that if he made light of it she'd stop looking mortified. "I don't blame you for wanting a souvenir."

* * *

"I should go." Fred said, making no attempt to move out of his chair.

Katie swirled her wine in the glass, studiously not looking at him."Well..." she took the plunge. "You could always stay. I mean, it's gone ten, there'll be patrols, it's not safe. And besides, it's still chucking it down."

"Er..." his mouth was open and he was trying to speak, but his brain was preoccupied with her words, not his. Did she really ask him to just stay the night?

"Hazel's at her parent's house." She added hastily, sensing his discomfort. "You could have her room."

He gave up. "Sure." He said resignedly. "Why not?"

* * *

He could certainly think of a few reasons not to stay a few hours later. He was lying on his back, staring up at Hazel's ceiling, failing to control his thoughts.

_Well, this was a mistake._

_Why did she ask me to stay if we're not even going to sleep together?_

_That was a bad thought. Katie was just being nice. Sex is not everything, Fred._

_Why did she ask me to stay?_

_Why did she break up with whatshisname?_

_Oh, god, why can't I stop thinking about her._

_You know why._

_Don't say it._

_Why not?_

_George said she does._

_George knows nothing about Katie._

_Yeah, but Alicia does. _

_Ego, shut up._

_And now I'm arguing with myself._

_Get to sleep Fre- what the _hell_ was that?_

_._

In her room Katie was going through pretty much the same thought process, but curled up on her side, facing her wardrobe.

_This was such a bad idea. He's only one room away...probably sleeping soundly. God, I wish he snored, then at least I'd know if he was awake or not. And now I am officially crazy, as no one wants their boyfriend to snore. Not that he is my boyfriend. I wish he w- NO! Bad route to go down. Oh, god, I think Tucker was right about- what was that noise?_

She sat upright, listening intently. There it was again- a muffled thump, a padding sound...like footsteps.

She seized her wand and jerked out of bed, whispering _lumos_ as she made her way over to the door, trying not to think about Death Eaters barging their way through any second. She slowly opened her door, wincing as it creaked a little. Wand aloft, she crept down the hall towards the sound.

Suddenly, a hand was clamped over her mouth. Panicking, she struggled, and bit it. Fred yelped.

"It's me!"

She shoved him off her. "Are you crazy?" she hissed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, what are you _doing?_"

"I came to see what that noise was." He whispered "I thought it might be _them_."

"How typical- Death Eaters rock up and we get caught bickering in the hall in our pyjamas." She muttered "Well, here goes."

Copying countless episodes of X-Files and various police dramas, she kicked the ajar door to the living room fully open and burst in, pointing her wand threateningly around, followed by Fred who started to laugh.

Perched on top of the coffee table was a large, fluffy black cat.

Relief got to Katie, and she too began to laugh.

"It's Mr Morpugo's bloody cat." She gasped, holding onto Fred, shaking with laughter. "I did – an FBI- door kick- for a cat."

Eventually the laughter faded away. Fred stroked the bemused animal. "May as well keep it here until the morning." He said, joining her on the sofa. Without thinking, he put his arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back, suddenly tired. "So, where did it all go wrong Kates?" he asked gently.

"Oh, god." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I don't know. Come on Fred, it's late. Can't we drop it for now?"

He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. "If we drop it now, will we ever pick it up again?"

She sighed. "Fine. Where did it go wrong? I have no idea. One minute we were fine, the next we rowing like nothing on earth and I got sick of it. There's too much to deal with as it is, without having to come home to a warzone."

His thumb was rubbing up and down on her arm; a missed comfort. "So it was just the rows? It wasn't me?"

"Well, we were both dicks to each other," she pointed out "So it was a bit you."

"So, it wasn't that you fell out love?"

Her breath caught and her heart did an unpleasant stall. That word wasn't allowed around them. She pushed him away and stood up.

"Don't, Fred." She warned.

"But why not?" he pressed.

"Because...because..." Her voice faded and he stood up and moved closer to her. His hand found the back of her neck, and pulled her closer...

'

...and then they were kissing and there was a tidal wave of feeling and instead of fighting it, she surrendered.

**.**

**A/N Yay I found my memory stick! SORRY it's taken me so long but I absolutely promise, over the next few days there will be at least two more updates!**


	46. Last Hope

**_This time I finally see the reason why/ I can't do this alone/ It took some time and concentration to believe it/ This I know...take me as I am/ Cause I'm going/ I was too scared to start, now I'm too scared to let go- _**_Take me as I am: FM Static_

Katie slipped out of bed, grabbing the phone on the way. She locked herself in the bathroom and dialled the one person she felt sure could help her: her Aunt Libby.

"Hello?"

"Libby, it's me, Katie. I know it's early, but I need help, urgently."

Libby was silent as Katie explained everything in a whisper.

"Katie," she said, when her niece stopped talking. "I kind of get the feeling you want me to tell you how to deal with this. But I can't, this is _your_ decision. You clearly love him, and I thought he was great when you two stayed the summer before last, but _you_ have to weigh up the good against the bad and then decide if it's worth it."

Katie sighed. "That's not as helpful as I'd hoped for Libby." She said. Her aunt laughed.

"I'm sorry Katie," she said affectionately "But this has to be your choice. Just do whatever makes you happy."

* * *

Fred woke as the door clicked softly shut. She was gone. He leapt out of bed and looked for her clothes, keys, purse.

All gone.

He swore and pulled on his discarded jeans and jumper, forced his feet into trainers, and dashed out.

Diagon Alley was busy, with large groups- safety in numbers- milling about. He pushed his ways through the crowds, shouting her name. He didn't care about the odd looks he was getting. He only cared about finding her.

Finally, he caught sight of her.

"Katie!" he bellowed, moving faster "KATIE!"

She did not turn at his voice, but came to a halt in front of a stall, causing a group behind her to tut and barge their way past.

He caught up with her and grabbed her hand, spinning her around to face him.

"Why did you leave?" he demanded.

Katie couldn't meet his eyes. "I don't know if I can do this again." She said in a low voice.

"Do what?"

"Lose you because of my own stupidity!" she replied agitatedly.

"Who says you will?" he asked softly.

She laughed bitterly "It's _us_ Fred. Trust me, if there's a way to screw it up, we'll find it."

He steeled himself, and swallowed hard. "Don't leave me Katie, not again."

She met his eyes now, searching for- what?

"Please, come back to me Kates, and we'll make it work."

"But _how_?" she cried.

"I don't know! But we will somehow. I know I was stupid, but you were too- can't we just forget and move on? I need you Katie, and in the middle of this stupid war I need you more than ever. Can't we try? _Please?"_

For a long, _long_ moment, Katie said nothing. Fred felt his heart banging against his chest. "I love you." He whispered.

She closed her eyes and laughed shakily "I must be mad-"

Fred didn't wait for her to finish. He simply bent his head down and kissed her.

"OI!"

They broke apart to see a fat, bald man glaring at them. "Could you not eat each other's faces in front of my stall? I'm trying to make a living here!"

"Sorry." Fred was beaming so much he thought his face might split in two. "We just got back together."

"I don't care if you found the cure for dragonpox." snarled the stall owner "Just get the hell out of my way!"

"But we're back together!" Fred grinned, then turned to the street "Do you hear that everyone? This beautiful, amazing, albeit crazy woman has just agreed to take me back." He announced to the shoppers, pointing at Katie.

"Fred!" Katie was blushing and laughing at the same time. "Shut up, they don't care!"

"Sure they care. You care, don't you?" he addressed a terrified looking child, who was dragged away by his harassed looking mother.

Lacing hands they wandered back to Katie's flat.

"Why did you sneak out of your own flat?" he asked, curiously.

Katie laughed "I needed to clear my head." She confessed "To make my choice."

In the middle of dark days, Katie and Fred were a happy bubble, too glad to be together again to be too serious.

They talked, they laughed, they had fun, they lay ground rules. Fred was determined to show Katie that he was deadly serious about their relationship.

"There is one thing I need to know." He said one night, as they were lying in bed.

"Mmm-hmm?" Katie was half-asleep.

He paused. "Did you and Tucker sleep together?"

Katie opened her eyes and looked at him. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "I really want to know."

"Why?"

He shrugged "Well, it's important to me. To know what happened in those months we lost. You know about me- and I want to know about Tucker."

Katie sighed. "Yes. Yes, I slept with Tucker. I wasn't going to say anything about it because I thought that it would make things odd."

Fred pulled her tightly to him. "No," he said "I just wanted to know. It's not going to make things odd between us, I won't let it. I won't let anything come between us again."


	47. Waiting

_**Right now, you're the only reason/ I'm not letting go...everybody sing, like it's the last song you will ever sing- **Born for this: Paramore._

Weeks had passed, with Fred and Katie in yet another honeymoon period. Their happiness was in bleak contrast to what was happening in the world around them.

Fred still refused to let Katie join the Order. She called him a chauvinistic, overprotective bastard and he called her a silly naive cow and then they both stewed for a bit and then Fred apologised but said that no way was he putting her in danger, and she said it was sweet and secretly vowed to join anyway.

She contacted Ginny, who put her in touch with Kingsley Shacklebolt. While she waited to see if she would be accepted into the order, she spent her time at work or worrying about Fred.

The twins were now heavily involved with the Order, in particular working with Lee on _Potterwatch_ or trying to protect people.

'

One night, Katie was lying in bed, waiting for Fred. It was early February and she was curled up in her pyjamas and one of Fred's old hoodies.

The door creaked, she jumped and he crept in.

"Katie?" The anguish was clear in his voice.

"Fred?" She scrambled over the bed and to him. She gasped "What happened to your hand?"

It was covered in blood and ugly purple bruises were forming, two fingers looked broken.

"We were too late Katie." His voice broke.

"Who?" she said urgently.

He shrugged "Oh, no one. Just a muggle family. That's all they are isn't it? Animals. Sport. What had they done to deserve to die like that?" He swallowed. "There were two kids, twin boys. We found them in their bedroom, huddled in the corner, clutching onto each other. They looked terrified. And in front- in front of them was their mother. She didn't look that much older than us. Covered in blood. Probably tortured in front of them."

"Fred..." Katie breathed, and then she was next to him, holding him, leading him to the bed.

"I've never seen anything like that before." He said hollowly, his eyes focussed on the floor.

"I'm sorry." She said tentatively.

"Why are you sorry for me?" he asked, bewildered. "I didn't lose anyone."

She stroked his fringe off his face. "What happened to your hand?" she asked gently.

"I punched a wall." He said dully. "Kingsley wanted to fix it, but I just apparated back here."

"Oh, Fred, I can't heal at all, you know that." She exclaimed.

"I don't care. I just wanted you with me."

Katie kissed his shoulder. "Lie down." She instructed "Get some sleep. We can fix your arm tomorrow."

He did as he was told, wrapping her arm tightly over his waist.

"Katie?" he said drowsily.

"Yes?"

"Kingsley told me to tell you that you're in."

"What?"

"The Order. You're in. Who put you in touch with him?"

"No one." She lied. "Are you mad that I've joined?"

There was a long silence. She thought that he had fallen asleep, but eventually he said "No. I'm afraid."

* * *

Once Katie was inducted into the Order she was given work to do on the White Flame, the underground newspaper for the anti-Voldemort movement, but also propaganda, like leaflets and posters. She helped to write them, publish them, and, most dangerous of all, distribute them.

She worked closely with Lee on Potterwatch, but also with Alicia, Angelina and Oliver. Most of their work was produced at Alicia's parent's house, protected as it was by magic.

It was March when Tom finally had to let Katie go. She'd been expecting it for a while, and simply used being unemployed as a chance to do more work for the Order. She knew that her friends, especially Hazel, were suspicious, but she had to trust that they would at least accept her excuses, even if they didn't believe them.

Halfway through March Fred and George suddenly turned up at Alicia's, where she and Katie were working on an article for the Flame.

"Harry escaped." Said George breathlessly. "They had him and he- and Ron and Hermione- escaped."

"They're at Bill and Fleur's," continued Fred "They're safe, but-"

"-we're not quite as safe and so-"

"-the Weasley's are all going into hiding-"

"-which means we have to close the shop."

"It also means that I can't come round anymore." Fred said directly to Katie.

"Will you keep an eye on the shop?" added George "From a distance of course."

Katie nodded.

"Alicia," said Fred, his eyes on Katie, "Could me and Kate get a little privacy?"


	48. Through the Fire

**_We tried so hard to understand, but we can't...cause all we know is falling, it falls_**_- All We Know: Paramore_

She was lying on the sofa reading when she heard a knock on the door. Feeling the familiar fear she grabbed her wand and went to answer it. She opened it slightly, and peered through the crack.

"Hi," she said politely, petrified. "Can I help you?"

A face familiar from Ministry posters leered at her: Antonin Dolohov. "We're here to see Fredrick Weasley." He said coolly.

Katie tried hard to hide her terror. What did they want with Fred? "Oh, I'm sorry, he doesn't live here."

"Oh, we know." He smiled slightly "But he doesn't seem to be home, so we thought we'd pay his little girlfriend a visit."

He flicked his wand and the door burst open, hitting Katie hard on the shoulder. She gasped with pain, and retreated into the flat. She thanked God that Hazel had gone to stay with her parents for a few days. She'd never believed in God, but right now it seemed like a good option to start praying.

"Sit down." Commanded Dolohov. Another Death Eater was searching the flat while Katie was seated in the kitchen. They were wearing a hood and mask, in an attempt to scare her.

It was working.

Twenty terrifying minutes ticked by slowly, too slowly, with Dolohov occasionally flinging questions at her such as "And what do you think about the Dark Lord's return to his rightful power?" Questions to scare her, tease her. Katie tried to answer as non-committedly as possible, certain that she was about to be tortured and murdered. She blinked back tears.

The masked Death Eater eventually returned and shook its head. Dolohov turned to face Katie.

"Well, well, well." He said, a cruel grin lighting up his features. "We've found nothing...incriminating against you, despite worries that you were involved in the illegal and destabilising rebel group the _Order of the Phoenix_." He spat the last words out "But still, we want to know where the Weasleys are."

"I don't know." She said, her voice surprisingly calm to herself, only her shaking hands betraying her.

"Are you afraid?" purred Dolohov. "You should be Miss Bell- your boyfriend is in serious trouble and you're the one who is going to pay the price." He paused for a moment, to let his words sink in, to enjoy the dread spreading over her face and fill her eyes like tears. "Crucio!"

Katie screamed, a memory of pain just as excruciating coming back to her- thrashing in the snow in Hogsmeade, previously locked away in a corner of her mind, a corner that Katie never wanted to face.

"Where are the Weasleys?" Dolohov shouted over her agony "Where are they? Tell me!"

"No- I don't know- please!"

The pain stopped. She lay on the floor, panting, crying. She rested her head against the tiles, feeling the cool against her hot skin, feeling tears and snot mix on her face and slide down to the ground.

"I will ask you again." Dolohov said in a quiet, menacing voice. "Where are the Weasleys, Miss Bell?"

"I don't know!" she cried "I really don't know!"

"Oh, really?" he mocked "Crucio!"

"NO!" she screamed "I don't- I don't- they didn't- stop! Please! No! FRED!"

"He can't help you now!" cackled Dolohov "He got you into this and now you're on your own!"

He lowered his wand, breathing heavily. He looked excited at her pain and screams. She lay there, limp. She was going to die. The masked Death Eater had gone. She could smell smoke. She was going to die. She knew it. In defiance she lifted her head and spat. It was weak and didn't go very far, but Dolohov saw.

He crouched and leaned very close to her face. One long finger stroked down her cheek. "Shame." He said, almost conversationally. "Pretty little thing, aren't you? Your mother was beautiful too, you know. Until she went and married a muggle." His nail dug into Katie's skin. "Ignorance is not a virtue, Miss Bell." He whispered "And information is always highly valued by the Dark Lord, as someone close to you knows well."

He straightened up and moved the doorway. He turned back, and with a casual flick of his wand, set the table on fire. The flames from the table had caught the curtains. The room was filling rapidly with smoke, but Katie simply lay there, unable to move. She heard fire alarms in the building wailing, people shouting, but she couldn't summon up any strength.

_I'm going to die here. I'm dying. I'm going to die without seeing Fred one last time._

At this thought she managed to find the energy to roll over onto her front. Then, with weak, shaking arms, she pushed herself up. She clutched at the wall, until at last she was what could pass at upright.

She coughed. She needed to get out, and fast, but just being vertical was sapping all her strength. Closing her eyes, thinking of Fred's smile, the way his voice cracked when he laughed, that little gasp he gave in bed, how warm his eyes were when he looked at her...

She pushed away from the wall and apparated. She appeared outside Alicia's house, not caring that muggles might see her, and rang the bell repeatedly, clinging to the porch bricks. Through the glass she could see a figure moving towards her. The door opened.

"Katie!" Alicia let out a scream and darted forward to catch her as she fell. "What happened?"

Katie blinked hard and quickly; her vision was going.

"Fred." She whispered.

Then she collapsed.

* * *

"Katie!"

Fred shoved Oliver with all his strength away from him. "Let me see her!" he roared "Katie!"

"She's through here." Alicia appeared in a doorway, "Don't shout! She's just lying there, staring at a wall. She hasn't moved since I put her there."

Fred barely listened. It was like when she'd been cursed. "Let. Me. See. Her." He snarled, and he pushed past Alicia.

"Katie?"

She didn't move. He slowly made his way over to the bed where she lay, as if trying not to scare a small animal off.

"Kate?" He lay down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't answer, but lay there, stiff and cold, _as if she was dead already_. He banished the thought. Tears began to drip down her face. He could nothing but hold her and murmur "it's okay, you're safe, I've got you." But still, the shaking did not subside for hours.

**A/N Just wanted to say, thank you for all the reviews! I can't remember who I replied to and who I didn't, so if I didn't respond, I'm very sorry. I recently started a new job, moved into my first house and had my childhood officially ended by the last Harry Potter film, so I've been attempting to get used to a more grown up world (it's stressful). Hopefully I should have some more time to update now though! :)**


	49. Obsession

**_You gotta stand for something/ or you'll fall for anything/ fall for anything/ 'Cause they'll bring you down, down, down-_**_ Fall for Anything: The Script_

_Ignorance is not a virtue, Miss Bell. And information is always highly valued by the Dark Lord, as someone close to you knows well._

_As someone close to you knows well._

_As someone close to you knows well._

**___As someone close to you knows well._**

"Stop thinking about what Dolohov said Katie."

Katie looked up. Fred was watching her. She wondered how long he'd been staring at her absently doodle question marks over the back of an old receipt.

"What?"

"You heard." His voice was steady, but as he reached over and took her hand, she could see his own shaking slightly. "Kate, Dolohov was trying to fuck with you. He was just playing with you."

She shook her head stubbornly. "No. You didn't hear him."

"Katie..." he didn't know what to say, so he sighed instead.

"You don't believe me."

"I believe you, I don't believe Dolohov." He countered.

Katie leaned forward. "Look, Fred, trust me. There was something in the way he said it. There's a traitor."

"But _who_?"

It had been two weeks since Dolohov had tortured and nearly killed Katie. Physically, she was starting to get back to normal. In other ways...she wasn't.

"I don't know!" Kate sounded frustrated and close to tears. Fred held her hand tighter.

"Kate," he said gently "think about it. It doesn't make sense for him to tell you seriously, to warn you."

"He was gloating."

"But why would he tell you? He'd know that you'd be on the lookout, that you'd be extra careful."

"He thought I'd die."

"But he let you live-"

"But-"

"Katie, Dolohov didn't give a damn if you lived or died." He felt brutal saying the words, but she had to understand. "He wanted some information, and when you couldn't give it to him, he played with you. He tortured you, and messed with your head, and left you for dead, not caring either way."

She yanked her hands away. "So you're not even going to think about the possibility?"

"It will send me crazy." He said frankly "I want to trust in my friends."

She forced her chair back, scraping it against the floor, and stalked out of the room, pausing only at the door frame. "The Potters wanted to trust in their friends too."

* * *

"You okay Fred?" George looked concerned.

Fred glanced up and something that had never happened before, happened- he checked before confiding in his twin.

He shook himself mentally. Much as he hated to admit it, Katie's paranoia and Dolohov's words were getting to him. Even as he explained to George, he wondered if Alicia, or Lee, or Angelina was crouched behind the door, eavesdropping.

As he saw his brother's face change, he realised how masterful Dolohov had been in planting a seed of doubt in Katie. Like a germ it was spreading, from Katie, to himself, to George. He could see it ahead, a chain of mistrust- would George share his fears with Alicia? Would Alicia confide in Angelina, would Angelina pass it on to Lee, would Lee let something slip to Oliver? He saw how it would unfold, and grow, feeding on the destruction of old friendships. He could see the obsession within Katie beginning to form- would she destroy their friendships alone?

He got to his feet. "I have to see Katie." He said firmly, striding to the door and wrenching it open. He paused. Lee was walking down the stairs, having clearly just passed the door. Had he been listening?

He turned "Don't- say anything to anyone else." He said uncomfortably.

_This should not be happening._

He twisted and arrived outside Alicia's house, where Katie had been staying while she recovered and waited to see if her flat was habitable. He hammered on the door.

"Come on, come on, open up." He muttered under his breath.

Alicia answered. He chatted, politely but distantly, for a few minutes, then headed to the room that Katie had taken over. He had to talk to her. He _had_ to make her see.

"Katie!" he burst into the room and came to an abrupt halt. There were scraps of paper all over her bed. He wouldn't have thought anything of it, but for the guilty look on her face.

"What're you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just sorting some stuff out." She wasn't convincing. He didn't believe her. He picked one of the pieces of parchment up.

"_Oliver Gregory Wood. Never go to his house- hiding something? Dated Rosie Parkinson for a year- Slytherin family and connections? Isn't seen for days at a time. Known to be very protective of his mother (only family.) –trying to keep her safe? _Katie- what the _hell_ is this?" he demanded.

She flushed. "Nothing."

"_Alicia Louise Spinnet- George's girlfriend, obviously in his confidence- has access to the Order, information, the Weasley's via her relationship with G, was there at the night of Bill's wedding, plus the New Year Party- _Katie!" He was appalled. "Are you trying to keep tabs on our friends?"

"There's a traitor!" she insisted, though her cheeks were hot, an uncomfortable, shameful scarlet.

"No!" Fred crumpled the paper and threw it across the room. "You're clutching at straws with these feeble accusations, and you're driving yourself mad."

He expected her to go on the defensive. He expected her to flare up. He expected her to insist that there was at least a grain of truth in Dolohov's words.

He did not expect her to crumble.

She slumped onto the bed, as if all her strength had suddenly been sapped from her. "I know- I know." She sobbed. "I can't help it Fred, I can't get his words from my mind."

He was by her in a split second, half holding, half shaking her. "Don't fall for it Katie. You know what Dumbledore said. We have to stay strong together. You _know_ what he's trying to do. Don't let them take your friends from you Katie. You'll end up with nothing."

'

**A/N Guys, thank you all for the reviews! I've been terrible at answering them individually, and I feel bad about it! But THANK YOU :) **


	50. Tower

**_Hear the sound of the falling rain/ Coming down like an Armageddon flame...this is the dawning of the rest of our lives-_**_Holiday: Greenday_

Despite the best efforts of their neighbours, Katie and Hazel's flat was badly damaged. They had responded quickly, and saved a fair few items, but most of the place was black and scorched. Hazel moved in with her sister; Katie with her mother. After all those months she was back where she started: home.

There was a wailing noise coming from Katie's bedroom.

* * *

"Katie!" her Mum hollered up the stairs, "Will you pick that up?"

Katie was scrambling through her handbag, tipping the contents out over her bed. There was only one reason why that would be going off. She pulled the mirror out. "Fred?"

"Katie, this is it. It's time. It's time."

* * *

Katie swept her hair back into a ponytail as she, Alicia, Angelina and Oliver made their way down the stairs to the Room of Requirement. They emerged into a brightly lit room where several familiar faces were waiting for them.

She made her way over to Fred, and he grasped her hand. They looked into each other's eyes for a brief second, and said it all. There was nothing else to put into words. Enough had been said.

Harry Potter burst in, looking extremely surprised to see them all there.

"Wh-"

Katie fought the urge to laugh as he slipped down the stairs. Now was not the time to laugh, even as it was all so ridiculous, the world collapsing around them.

"Voldemort's on his way-"

Fred squeezed Katie's hand tighter. So, this was really it. Time to drop the jokes and show what he was really made of.

"We're fighting."

Katie nodded, leaned up to Fred, and whispered "Love you."

"I love you too." He said quietly, and she followed the others towards the Great Hall.

They waited in there while the students were evacuated, school day ghosts around them. Suddenly, Leanne and Hazel were at her side.

"Where did you come from?" she asked in a whisper. "Where's Rachel?"

"Here." She hissed. "We heard there was a fight."

Before Katie could reply, McGonagall pointed at the four of them. "You girls, come with me." She said. It felt odd with it not be followed by threats of detention or loss of house points, but instead with "We're going to fight from the Gryffindor Tower."

The nodded and followed her and several others. As the main body of the group passed through the Fat Lady portrait, Rachel stumbled. Hazel caught her and Katie and Leanne, who were just in front, turned.

"Are you-" Leanne began, but she was cut off as Rachel suddenly staggered to one side, crushing Hazel into the wall, then took several steps back. She flicked her wand and the portrait slammed shut.

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?" demanded Katie.

Rachel was breathing heavily. "Following orders." She spat, shooting a spell at Katie that was blocked easily by Leanne.

"Are you mad?" Hazel looked dumbfounded, hauling herself to her feet. "You're going to try and take on all three of us?"

"I'm the cleverest out of all of us!" Rachel yelled

"Just because you got the best marks at school it doesn't mean you're the cleverest!" flung back Leanne.

Her words must have stung Rachel because she let out a scream and shot a stunning spell at Leanne; Katie blocked it; Rachel ducked the rebounding spell and tried to curse Hazel; Leanne retaliated and Katie pointed her wand in Rachel's face.

"Traitor." She hissed "I knew there was one around here."

Rachel laughed "Yeah, you could say that. But Hazel betrayed you and you took her back. Fred betrayed you and you took him back. Face it Katie- you're pathetic."

Katie stared at her friend in revulsion.

"You make me sick Rachel." Said Leanne "You're the pathetic one- is there an original thought in that head of yours?"

"How's the flat Hazel, Kate?" jeered Rachel. "It was great setting fire to all those photos of you. Really felt like the end of an era."

Katie felt as though she was going to vomit. "You were the masked one." She gasped. "You heard me get tortured?"

Rachel nodded. "And I was the one that told them that you were part of the Order. Very clever, hiding the stuff at Alicia's, where I couldn't access it. I told them about Lee's party at New Year. I even helped out at that Weasley wedding- I escorted you back to the kitchen after interrogation Kates, remember that? Oh, and let's not forget that night that you and Alicia were waiting for your precious twins to come back after getting Harry Potter away from his muggle family. The fear in your face was hilarious, especially as you tried to hide it- of course," she added thoughtfully "I was expecting them to be dead by the time I got home."

"Alright Rachel." snarled Hazel "You're You-Know-Who's bitch, we all get that. You can stop boasting now."

Rachel laughed. "You should have shut me up before." She told them "You just gave my friends time to get here."

"Stupefy!" shrieked a voice. Hazel punched Rachel in the jaw as Leanne ducked. At the end of the hall there was a couple of Slytherins from their year.

Katie sent a stunning spell whistling down to them. She missed, but suddenly Rachel was there, frantically casting spell after spell. Katie could do nothing but deflect them. Hazel was fighting Paul Parkinson; Leanne was battling Marcus Flint.

"Why are you doing this Rachel?" shouted Katie "I thought you were meant to be the smart one of the group!"

"I _am_!" screamed Rachel "But the Dark Lord sees more than the geeky girl than you see Katie! He sees someone with talent, someone who one day could wield power. Someone who could become something, someone who'd never be overlooked again!"

"Is this little-man syndrome?" Katie sneered "How very Napoleon. God, you're just- _ugh!" _

Katie was hurling spell after spell at her friend with all her might. "The thing is Rachel, you're just _deluded_ aren't you? Do you _really_ think he'd give you power? A half-blood 19 year old? Wake UP, Rachel!"

Her rage and hurt at the betrayal exploded out of her wand and Rachel was blasted back into a wall.

Katie turned to see Flint slash his wand and Leanne crumpled. Katie hit him with a bodybind curse. There was no time to check on Leanne; Hazel was still madly duelling Parkinson and Rachel was back on her feet.

Tapestries were torn, windows smashed, the floor and walls cracked with missed spells. Katie had never felt so furious before. She screamed curse after curse, hoping that she would find her mark.

There was a colossal explosion behind Katie, caused by Rachel's spell. She heard Hazel scream and turned to see her friend lying there, seemingly unconscious, Parkinson buried under a pile of bricks.

"Expelliarmus!" Rachel had taken advantage of Katie's distraction and disarmed her, so violently that Katie was forced to the ground.

"Sorry Rach," she said bravely "I think Harry Potter's bought the rights to that spell."

Rachel kicked Katie's wand to one side. "You always thought you were funny, didn't you?" she said condescendingly. "Pity you aren't."

"You always thought that you were better than us didn't you?" countered Katie "Pity you aren't."

"Any final jokes to tell before I kill you?"

"Well, actually I did hear one about a roof, but it's probably over your head."

"Shut up Katie." Rachel lifted her wand.

"Wait!" yelled Katie "One thing!"

"What?" Rachel snarled.

"That valentine from Oliver Wood in third year? It was from us."

Rachel pointed her wand in Katie's face. "Avada-"

* * *

Fred had never felt so invincible.

He was barely even thinking; the magic was making its own way out of his wand; the only thing he was conscious of was the faces that flashed in his head, reminders of what he had to lose, what he could lose forever.

His twin was not by his side, but he had another brother there: Percy. He would never have expected this, to be fighting side by side with Percy, perfect, pedantic Percy.

"Hello Minister! Did I mention that I'm resigning?"

A giddy, hysterical sort of glee rose in Fred, his voice rose in pitch excitedly as he shouted over to his brother "_You're joking, Perce! You actually_are_joking... I don't think I've heard you joke since you were –_"

Then-

* * *

"Avada Kedavra!"

Katie stared as Rachel's eyes went blank and she fell forward. Katie scrambled backwards and turned. Hazel was standing, frozen, wand aloft, eyes terrified.

"Hazel!" gasped Katie, getting to her feet shakily and embracing her.

"I killed her." said Hazel blankly "I just murdered my own friend."

"You had to do it Hazel," Katie said with a firmness she didn't feel. "She was going to kill me. And this way- this way we can hide it...hide that she was a D-"

The portrait banged open and McGonagall burst through with various other students.

"_What happened?"_ cried McGonagall.

"We were ambushed. Rachel was killed." Katie kept her words sparse, and truthful. She couldn't cope with the lies...not yet, anyway.

"Oh my-" McGonagall collected herself. "The castle has been breached, we're going to fight below. Put Miss Carlisle somewhere- somewhere safe. Any injuries, get to Madam Pomfrey."

The group, McGonagall in the lead, ran to fight, like animals, wary and close together.

"Leanne." Katie said, turning to Hazel. The two girls lifted her up and made their way slowly through the castle, leaving Rachel behind. They occasionally came across random patches of fighting, where they would hide Leanne and themselves, and join in, shooting secret spells at enemies.

"You have fought valiantly."

Katie almost dropped Leanne as You-Know-Who's voice echoed through the castle. She listened intently to his speech, losing track only to stun a Death Eater that she spotted running past.

"One hour."

"Let's go." Said Hazel quietly, and they made the last of their long, slow journey through the school. They helped Leanne onto the platform, where Alicia was helping to heal.

At the sight of Alicia, Fred popped into her head. Without a word she jumped off the stage, determined to find him.

She caught sight of the Weasley's all huddled together. Her heart stopped. For a second, it actually stopped with pure terror.

And then she was running towards them, screaming his name at the top of her voice, elbowing her way through them all.

She felt George trying to restrain her, as she saw.

Blinded by tears, she kneeled slowly by the body of Fred Weasley.


	51. Breathe Again

**Rescue me/ From everything/ I wish I could live/ I wish I could breathe**-_ Rescue Me: Hawthorne Heights_

Black. Black. With glints of white that hurt his eyes. Blurry spots of grey and white, merging...

* * *

"He's okay Katie, he's okay."

She sobbed blindly. "I thought- I thought-"

"I know what you thought Katie, but it's okay. He's alive. He's alive."

George knelt beside her as Fred's eyes flickered open.

"Fred!" Katie flung her arms around him.

"'M okay." He mumbled, patting her back, dazed.

"What happened?"

"A bloody wall fell on me." He shook his head, then stopped as it made him feel nauseous.

"I'm glad you didn't die." George said with a grin. Fred could hear the strain in his twin's voice. What would George have done if Fred had died?

"Me too- death by wall, how embarrassing."

"Don't joke about it!" Katie snapped. There was a pause. Fred tried to read what was running through Katie's eyes, but it was gone too fast.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Alicia was standing behind them. "Kate, George, budge."

Alicia began some complex looking healing spells. Katie was biting her fingers, something she did when she was trying not to cry. After about fifteen minutes Fred was hauled to his feet. He walked about experimentally, Katie watching him. He took her hand and wanted to ask her what was wrong, what had happened, who- because it had to be a death- who had fallen, but then the words they had never wanted to hear were echoing around his head and he forgot everything. _Harry Potter is dead._

The crowds surged outside to deny it; to deny Voldemort. Fred tried to cling onto Katie, but amongst the rush he felt her fingers slip from his. He tried to find her in the crush, craning his neck, but when he saw Harry dead in Hagrid's arms, he gaped. He had seen Harry unconscious before, but never broken like this.

He watched it unfold, unable to catch his breath. What would happen, what would happen? What could he do? He watched Neville, Neville Longbottom, that hopeless, shy, incredible boy take on Voldemort, while he, the bold, brave Fred Weasley stood silently and stared. But he had slipped away from death once tonight, and everything in his body repelled the idea of facing it again.

And then Neville broke free and chaos reigned.

And he was ducking and weaving and jinxing and hexing and he'd never tried to curse so many people, but he was so busy looking for Katie that he didn't know what he was saying, or who he was hitting.

Then he caught sight of her, duelling fiercely with a burly man. Each of his curses missed her by barely a millimetre. Fear forced its way up from his stomach, long tendrils that wrapped themselves around his heart, squeezing tightly.

"Katie!"

She couldn't hear him, but he saw her cry out in pain as the Death Eater's wand slashed down her cheek and neck.

"Katie! Stupefy!" The Death Eater, mid- triumphant yell, fell. Blood was pouring down her face, blinding her, but before he could reach her another wave swept them away, back into the Great Hall.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" Fred was astonished as his Mother pushed past and began to duel Bellatrix Lestrange. He grabbed Ginny and pulled her closer.

What was Mum doing? He'd never seen her in this way. Angry, yes. Strangely beautiful- no.

Bellatrix was prancing around, laughing manically and then Fred felt a surge of pride as his mother, another unexpected hero, killed for her family.

But it wasn't done yet, there was still a moment for Fred to be one of those heroes, as Voldemort turned his wands on her. Fred reached out with his wand to save her-

And then a shield cast by someone else protected Molly Weasley, and suddenly Harry was there.

"Harry!" Fred bellowed, then quickly fell silent, unwilling to be the one who distracted the Chosen One, afraid that Voldemort would turn on him.

Harry and Voldemort circled each other. Fred was only half listening, scanning the crowds for Katie.

"Accident, was it, when my Mother died to save me?"

Fred saw his own mother, the same but different to him, standing near, watching Harry with pride and terror. He saw his twin, white and afraid, opposite.

The tension in the air grew thicker and more cloying as Harry and Voldemort continued to circle each other. Fred had to fight the urge to help him. He could see Ron and Hermione, their eyes never leaving Harry's face, clutching onto each other.

"_The wand chooses the wizard..."_

What the hell was Harry on about? What did wandlore have to do with anything? _Kill him!_

"..._we duel on skill alone..._"

Come on Harry...Fred found himself praying. This is it...the end...

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Harry whispered, but Fred heard him as if he was right by him.

The sun suddenly burst through, shining on Harry and Voldemort's faces, blinding them, and blinding the hall to what was happening, who had won and who was dead, was it hope or fear?

Fred's mouth dropped as the wand arrived in Harry's hand- Voldemort fell back, finally dead.

Fred did not know what he was doing. He was shouting Harry's name and running to him. He was by George and Alicia, who was crying. He was hugging his mother. He was pushing through the crowds, because he could not find her and he needed to.

"Fred!"

She was forcing her way through towards him and _slam_, she was in his arms and kissing him and crying.

"It's over" she was shouting at him "We're safe, it's over, it's done!"

They sat at a table, any table, they didn't even know which, and he examined her wound while she threw food at Grawp. It was over. It was over.


	52. Smile

_**Oh you just gotta be happy/ **__**But sometimes that's hard/ **_**Just remember to smile smile smile/ __****And that's a good enough start**. -_Smile: McFly_

Fred walked into the bathroom. Katie jumped guiltily and dropped her hands from her face.

"What are you doing?" he asked, though he knew perfectly well what she was doing.

Her facial wound, a long stripe down her cheek and neck had been cleaned and healed in trice by a healer from St Mungo's, but they had been unable to prevent scarring.

"_This was a deep wound, and caused by powerful dark magic," the Healer told them "Which makes it hard enough to erase. And then, Miss Bell, the curse that you were put under a year and a half ago has also affected the process."_

_Katie gripped Fred's hand at that. "What do you mean?" she asked shakily._

"_I mean that there are still some effects remaining. We're not sure what exactly, but it shouldn't cause too many problems." The Healer said reassuringly. "At the minute it just means we can't prevent or cure any scarring."_

"Nothing." Katie said quietly "I was- just-"

"Katie," he said softly "Your scar isn't as bad as you think it is."

"As bad?" she repeated "As _bad_! You know it's awful Fred!" She looked away and when she spoke again she sounded as though she was holding the tears back. "Look at me! And to know that they can't do anything about it because of that _stupid, fucking curse-"_

Fred grabbed her wrists. "I don't care!" he said roughly "Katie, it's a scar. It's _nothing_. When I think about how close it went to your jugular vein- you could have died! You could have been killed at any point, and when I think about that I couldn't give a shit about a stupid bloody scar!"

He drew a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her. "I didn't fall in love with you for your face." He said into her hair "I fell in love with you because you're funny and intelligent and caring and strong." He kissed her forehead. "Oh, and your bum." He added as an afterthought.

"Fredrick Weasley!" Katie pulled away and smacked him lightly on the arm, but he was pleased to see she was smiling properly. He put his hand on the side of her neck and stroked her lip with his thumb.

"And your smile." He whispered "That's why I love you. And besides..." He lifted up his shirt to show where Hogwarts bricks had nearly crushed him to death. "We've all got scars now."

* * *

"Hi, Katie." George plonked himself down at the kitchen table, where she sat, nursing a cup of tea. "Where's Fred?"

"Went out to get some breakfast."

Her hand was on her cheek, her arm leaning against her neck to cover the ugly purple line. He hesitated for a split second, then reached over and gently pulled her arm away. Katie dropped her eyes to the table.

"I know Fred has told you this a million times Kate, but it's really not that bad."

Katie didn't reply. George rolled his eyes. "At least you've got both ears." He pointed out. "Besides, everyone loves a war wound."

Katie glared at him "You have literally no idea how to deal with normal people, do you?"

"Nope." George said cheerfully, dropping her hand. "But if normal means forgetting that I'm lucky to be alive, and still have everyone with me, then I'd rather not be that."

He abandoned the chirpy tone. "Come off it Katie. It's just a scar. Who's going to care? And if people stare just tell them where you got it, and to mind their own business, nosy gits."

Despite herself, Katie smiled slightly. "I could get a t-shirt."

"What, like, I fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and all I got was this lousy scar?"

Katie laughed, but sobered quickly. "We shouldn't laugh."

George shrugged "We shouldn't be self-pitying either."

.

.

.

**A/N God, sorry it's short and has taken forever. Uni, radio, life etc. The excuses don't change.**


	53. Illusion

_**I figured all the years we shared were proof enough...that's until the day you showed me, you don't need anybody else/ Why'd you have to go? /And make me say all these things about you?/ Why'd you have to turn around/ After all that we've been through? -**Singled Out: New Found Glory.  
_

_Her face is filled with hate. She points her wand in Katie's face. "Goodbye Katie." She jeers-_

"No!" Katie's eyes shot open. She stared at the ceiling, breathing heavily. She was in her bed, at her Mum's house.

And it was the day of Rachel's funeral.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she wished that she had taken up Fred's offer to stay with her. He knew that she was having nightmares about Rachel- but he thought they were nightmares about Rachel being killed, not trying to kill.

Katie, Leanne and Hazel had hidden the fact that Rachel was a Death Eater from everyone. It was partly to protect Rachel, and partly to save the truth from Rachel's doting father, but mostly because saying it out loud, telling people, would make it true. It would make it real. They would have to accept that Rachel betrayed them.

Katie glanced at the clock. It read 5:16 am. She knew she wasn't getting anymore sleep. Not after that dream.

She lay there for a while, on her side, curled in the foetal position, staring at a photo that she'd only recently developed, though it had been taken a few months before.

The four of them were standing together on a beach. It had rained that day and they were huddled under two pink umbrellas; Leanne's curly brown hair whipping around while she laughed, shoulders bumping with Katie, resting her head on Leanne's shoulder, arms linked with Rachel; Hazel tossing her own hair back and smiling in her usual flirtatious way, her arm wrapped around a grinning Rachel, who held an umbrella over their heads. It had been the last time that they'd all been together before- before-

The lump in her throat was choking her. She couldn't stop staring at the four of them laughing, carefree for those few rare, vital hours. _Why_ had Rachel done this? _How_ had she kept it up, the pretence that everything in this photo was the same as the one beside it, the one where they hugged in their Hogwarts robes, with goofy teeth and the starting spots?

Katie couldn't prevent the hot tears spilling over, scalding her cheeks. And then she was sobbing, harder than she'd ever done in her life, because Rachel was gone, gone forever and she could never explain why she'd done it, she could never make amends.

Eventually the tears dried out. Delicately, as if she were fragile as friendship, she showered and got ready.

Anna heard the muffled tears in the next room, but lay still. Let Katie grieve. She needed to release it, but Anna knew her daughter would never show that in front of her. So she waited until she knew Katie was in the kitchen before moving.

Katie was toying with her cereal when her mother walked in.

"How are you?" Anna gently lay her hand on top of Katie's head, a gesture familiar from childhood.

"As fine as I could be..." Katie trailed off, biting back her words. "I'm going to meet Hazel and Leanne- we're at the front with Hazel's Dad-"

Anna was left wishing she could do more for Katie, as Katie grabbed her bag and disappeared out the door.

* * *

"We are here today to mourn the death of Rachel Mae Carlisle, whose life was tragically cut short during the battle of Hogwarts..."

Katie was in between Leanne and Hazel. The three of them clenched each other's hands tightly.

"...a dedicated student, a fun loving teenager, a caring daughter and a loyal friend-" Katie winced "-Rachel was many things to many people. We are now going to hear from one of those who knew her best, her close friend Leanne."

_Loyal friend. Knew her best. _

Leanne made her way up to the podium and swallowed nervously.

"I first met Rachel, like most Hogwarts students meet friends, on the train. She was reading a text book and I instantly thought I did _not_ want to be her friend. But then we were sorted into the same house together, along with two other girls who were destined to become my best friends."

Katie closed her eyes. They stung.

"Rachel was always the quiet one, the clever one, the girl who would sit up with you until 2am attempting to help you finish that essay you just couldn't write, while her own sat not quite done, the one who quietly stuck up for you, gave you support, and the only one of us that could write notes in class and get away with it.

She wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. And though me, Kate and Hazel knew her well, Rachel was a complex person with many layers, someone who never fully let the barriers down."

Leanne looked straight at Hazel and Katie.

"So, although there was a lot Rachel kept to herself, I can honestly say she was one of the best friends I ever had, and I know that we-" Leanne gulped down the tears "We all loved her and will miss her a lot more than she would ever have believed."

* * *

"It's the only way." Whispered Katie. "It would kill her Dad."

"It just feels wrong..."

"We're protecting her and her family." Hazel hissed "It's a hell of a lot more than she deserves."

"Hazel..."

"It's true." Hazel spat "She was my best friend, she always was, the one that I trusted beyond anyone, and she- she-"She took a deep breath "She's a traitor. This whole thing is stupid and made up, but it's the right thing to do."

"Are you sure?" Leanne didn't sound convinced.

Hazel nodded. "It's just an illusion, right? Like everything else being okay. It's all pretend."


	54. Teamwork

**_You and me, always, and forever/ It was always you and me, always_**_- You and Me: The Wannadies_

The magical world was gradually restoring itself. People were emerging from their secret houses, double lives and picking up their jobs, families, friends.

Tom asked Katie if she wanted her job back now that business was once again booming. She agreed, but only as a temporary measure. Katie was planning something that would make her father proud- she was applying to University.

She knew it was an unusual move. There was only one university in Britain for magical study, based in a gloomy little campus in North Wales. She had no idea if they were even accepting applications for this year, but she sent it off anyway, keeping her fingers crossed and telling no one.

The summer weeks passed. People were pulling together like never before to organise housing, schooling, work. Slowly, society began to rebuild itself.

A group of them got together to rebuild the flat shared by Katie and Alicia and then Hazel. The Weasley twins siphoned funds into housing projects anonymously, and closed the shop one day a week to help the rebuilding. Fred could see that Katie was keeping something from him, and it itched in his brain, but he fought hard not to say anything. He wouldn't push it. When she wanted to tell him- and he was sure that she would- she would tell him.

* * *

In August Katie finally received her answer.

She was lying in bed, gazing at the ceiling, when there was a tapping at the window. She drew back a curtain to see her owl, Ewok hovering outside.

As she threw open the window to let him in, light and sound also invaded the room.

"Katie? What's goin' on?" Fred sat up, blinking.

"Sorry," whispered Katie, pulling the curtains back into place so that the light was blacked out. "I've got a letter."

"Who from?" he asked, flopping back onto his pillow.

"Probably one of my sisters." She fibbed, "I'll go read it in the kitchen."

She left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Fred yawned and closed his eyes, drifting back to sleep.

Then he heard a scream. He sat up and banged his head on the table as he got up. He hissed in pain, but dashed into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?!" he yelled, as he burst in. George and Alicia burst in through the other door at the same time, wands drawn.

"I'm in! I'm in!" shrieked Katie, dancing around the kitchen.

"What? What?"

"University!" she burbled happily "I applied to study History there weeks ago, and I didn't know if they'd even accept me or be doing courses this year, but they are and they want me!"

"Oh, my god!" "Well done!" Alicia and George crashed into a hug with a still dancing Katie.

"Let's go celebrate." Suggested Alicia "We'll go out for breakfast and have champagne. Come on, let's start getting ready."

She dragged George out tactfully, having noticed that Fred hadn't said anything yet.

Katie stopped dancing.

"You didn't tell me you'd applied." He said casually "Why not?"

"I didn't want to...well, jinx it for one thing." She admitted sheepishly, "But also because I didn't want it to cause any issues with us if I wasn't even sure if I was going or not."

"Kate, if this is something you really want to do, there's no way I'd let this be a problem." He said urgently "You have to get this into your head, Katie- this is it, we're together now, remember? This is me and you, in it for the long run."

* * *

The weeks leading up to Katie's departure to Wales passed in a blur. She had to organise fees, accommodation...and the small matter of her parents. Both were extremely over excited at the prospect of a daughter at university, and Katie had to fight hard to stop them from interfering in everything.

Term didn't start until October, and by then Katie had all but moved in with Fred.

On the last night before she left for Wales, they were lying in bed. Katie was facing the window, Fred had his arm wrapped around her, softly kissing her neck.

"Fred," she said quietly "I need to tell you something."

"Yeeees?" he mumbled, his lips moving up her neck and he began nibbling her earlobe.

She playfully swatted at him. "Get off me, you idiot."

"Don't you like it?" he smirked. He knew she did, and went back to nibbling.

"Rachel was a Death Eater." She said, without any preamble. It was the first time she'd said it aloud to anyone and she felt it hit her with the force of a hippogriff.

Fred bit her earlobe hard in shock.

"OW!" she yelled, pushing him away and putting her hand to her ear.

"Sorry!" he said quickly "I just wasn't expecting- look, come here." He moved her hand from her ear and pulled her close. "What?"

"She was a- a Death Eater." Katie gulped, and then burst into tears. "She tried to kill me. She would have done, but Hazel got to her first-"

She buried her head in Fred's chest and her shoulders shook as she cried. He could do nothing but hold her until the tears slowed and she could breathe again.

"And you kept all this bottled inside for months?"

She nodded "We decided- me, Hazel and Leanne- not to tell anyone, ever. We didn't want people to hate her."

"I can see why you'd do that..." Fred said slowly "but why didn't you tell me?"

"I promised." She replied simply "But I'm going tomorrow and...I just felt like I wanted to tell you."

He was silent for a minute or two, then he kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry" he murmured, and to Katie, those two words signified that he was there to stay.

The distance wouldn't matter as it had when Fred had left Hogwarts. The fact that Katie's friend was a Death Eater wouldn't affect anything. Nothing could break them apart this time. Before, they were two people in fell in love. Now they were one whole. Now they were a team.


	55. Socks

**And all this time, while the world passes us by**/ **What will we leave behind, but the pages of our lives?**/ **And if we take our time, I bet we can all find**/ _**The things in life worth living fo****r- **Boy Moves to a New Town With an Optimistic Outlook: FM Static_

Katie had been put into a small flat with three other girls: Magda, the tall, Irish one with the model looks; Nikita, the quiet, short one with a sharp tongue; and Ling-Su, Katie's partner-in-crime.

The first week or so was taken up with events, trying to get to know each other, and learning how to cope completely on their own. The four of them were all initially wary, but eventually bonded, bizarrely, over socks.

Katie had put a wash on, and unthinkingly, as it was not a full load, had told the others to stick any little bits and pieces they might need to wash. All three had done so, and for the past three days it had been sitting there slowly drying (and beginning to smell a bit musty, Katie had to concede) as none of them wanted to be the one to sort it out.

"Okay!" Magda said loudly, tipping all the items on the floor one evening. "That's it. This is gross; everyone grab their stuff."

She sat cross-legged on the floor. Nikita was lying on her front on the sofa and she leaned over. Ling-Su was leaning against the coffee table, and Katie on one side, resting her head on one hand, and idly sifting through the pile with the other.

"Whose are _these?_" she said, in mock disgust, holding up a pair of Puddlemere United socks.

"Mine!" Ling-Su reached over and grabbed them. "I'm guessing these are yours?" She threw a pair of Wimberton Wasp socks into Katie's face.

"At last, a real team."

"The Wasps are not a real team, they've sucked since Bagman retired-"

"And Puddlemere _don't_ suck? I suppose it's hard to get a decent team together when you keep changing managers..."

"Right, _end_ of Quidditch talk." Decreed Nikita firmly, "Does anyone want a cup of tea?"

They sorted the stuff out, chatting about each of their lives. Eventually they all had a pile of clean clothes to the side, forgotten while they talked.

* * *

Soon to join their little group was Seb.

Katie had gone in for her first lecture feeling slightly nervous and wishing that she knew someone here. She was sitting down, fiddling with her necklace when a bag was slapped down next to her.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he said "I'm Seb, and I have a phobia of sitting alone."

Katie grinned in relief. "Of course."

Seb came from London, but was two years older than Katie, so she hadn't known him at Hogwarts- plus he'd been a Ravenclaw, and Katie had never been one for house-mingling.

"I've spent the past two years bumming around and avoiding my parents," he explained. "Not that they really wanted to know me after I came out."

The last to join them was Chris, a burly blond American, studying transfiguration. Loud and fond of a beer or two, or six, he made up the group.

Katie spent her first term at university in a blur. She grew close to Ling-Su and Seb in particular, and the three of them often received big batches of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, which they faithfully tested on their fellow students- all in the name of research of course.

She went to parties, she joined a quidditch team and developed a serious rivalry with Chris on the pool tables in the student bar. She attended lectures- except on a few occasions where she slept in, and one particularly bad morning when she having her hair held back by Nikita while she threw up a few too many shots- and even though she loved university, and everything there, there were too many nights alone where she wished Fred was next to her, or woke up in the morning expecting to see him lying there, only to realise she was alone.

Not that she didn't see Fred; every weekend one or the other would go to visit. Fred got on with her friends, particularly Magda. They often went out as a group; one time getting Fred spectacularly drunk and shaving off one of his eyebrows. Then Katie decided it looked uneven and shaved the other one off too.

Fred was not pleased when he woke up.

But still, the weeks slipped by and before she knew it, it was the Christmas holidays and she was packing to go home. All of them had very little money, so they did secret santa. Katie was pleased that she pulled out Chris' name- he was easy to buy for. All she needed to get was some music he'd dropped hints about and beer and she was sorted and ready for Fred's.

* * *

"Fred, I'm here!" Katie called as she appeared in the fireplace with her case.

Fred emerged down the stairs. "Katie!" he pulled her into a kiss.

"I missed you." She said, her fingers stroking his hair.

"Me too." He smiled. "I have a surprise for you."

He lead her up to the living room that was tidy- for once- and in the middle was a small table lit by a large candle and decorated with a single, pink gerbera daisy.

"Oh wow." Katie turned to notice that Fred was even wearing a shirt.

"Welcome home Katie," he said, almost shyly.

"You've cooked a romantic meal?" She couldn't stop the smile. He nodded and she threw her arms around him. "I bloody love you."

"It was Alicia's idea," he told her, "I just tried not to burn the food."

* * *

Christmas Day rolled around very quickly, the first Christmas they'd properly spent together. They went for dinner at the Weasley's, providing Katie with the first chance she'd had to really talk to Alicia in weeks.

They sat in a corner with a drink each, and other the cover of the wireless had a proper talk.

"Thanks for giving Fred the idea for the romantic meal by the way Leesh."

Alicia looked surprised for a second then quickly said "Oh yeah- sure. That's- okay."

Katie narrowed her eyes. "You didn't, did you?"

Alicia shook her head, smiling slightly.

"That sap."

"I wish George was." Said Alicia quietly.

"What do you mean? Are you rowing?"

"No! No, not at all. I mean, we get on great- but...I don't know. Something's missing. The spark has gone, if that's not totally cliché. It's like the attraction is missing."

Katie shrugged. "That doesn't mean that you're going to break up. Maybe you're just getting too comfortable-"

"Kate, we haven't had sex in about 3 months." whispered Alicia "And we practically _live_ together for Christ's sake."

Katie didn't know what to say to this sudden honesty, so she looked at her fingernail.

"It's not like I don't love him." Alicia said hurriedly. "I do. I'm just not sure I'm _in_ love with anymore."

"But you two are like...an institution!" burst out Katie.

Alicia laughed at that. "Thanks Katie," she said affectionately. "But I kind of think that if we do break up, you'll be the most upset out of us all."

* * *

Katie was still thinking about Alicia and George that night in bed. Fred was fast asleep next to her, so very quietly she got up and snuck into the living room. It was empty, but when she pushed open the kitchen door, light flooded in, and she noticed George sitting on the steps outside.

"Hi George." He raised a hand in a wave without turning, which she took as her signal to sit down.

"Cigarette?"

"Thanks."

There was a pause as Katie lit her cigarette and took a drag. "Are you stressed?"

He looked at her, startled. "What?"

"Fred only smokes when he's stressed or upset." She shrugged "Just wondered if you were the same."

"No...not..._stressed_, exactly." He said slowly, "Thinking."

"About Alicia?"

He nodded. "You know, when I took her to the Yule Ball I didn't know we'd end up lasting four years. And they've been...amazing, and I'm so glad they happened. But, I don't know..." he trailed off. Katie diplomatically kept silent. "You and Fred, you've still got It."

"Got it?"

"_It._" he waved his hand around. "You know, that- that _thing_ you two have got, the electricity even when you're having a humdinger of a row." He added, with a touch of amusement.

Katie flushed. "Yeah, sorry about those."

"It's okay. At least you've got strong emotions about each other. Me and Leesh..." He took a drag, then laughed bitterly as he exhaled. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. I don't like to talk about things like this."

"Even with Fred?" she asked, surprised. "I mean, I know a lot of guys don't like to dissect their feelings- except Seb, god, he never shuts up- but I thought you and Fred told each other everything."

George laughed properly then, as he chucked away the cigarette butt and stood up. "No Katie," he said, ruffling her hair annoyingly. "We don't."

* * *

"This sucks."

"I know."

Fred and Katie stood in front of the fireplace, not touching, but equally not ready to say goodbye.

"Well, you chose to bugger off to the arse-end of nowhere." He pointed out.

"Well excuse me for trying to further my education." She pretended to huff. "Just because you never cared about school."

She slowly stepped into the fire, and Fred passed her case over. She blew him a kiss. "I'll see you soon."

"Love you," he said.

"I love you too." She replied, before calling out her destination. She dropped the floo powder, and the green flames licked at her until she was gone.

**A/N I can't even remember the last time I updated this. Sorry. Please review if you're still reading, so I know if there's anyone out there to still write for! ;)**


	56. Two Roads

_**Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road/ Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go/ So make the best of this test, and don't ask why/ It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time/ It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right/ I hope you had the time of your life- **__Good Riddance/Time of Your Life: Green Day. _

In the weeks that followed, Katie kept expecting Alicia to turn up and tell her that she and George had broken up. In fact, it was not until the end of March that Alicia finally banged on Katie's door with a smile and declared that for the first time in over four years that she was a single woman.

"How's George?" asked Katie.

Alicia shrugged. "Relieved I think." She said honestly. "Seriously Kate, I think if we hadn't have ended it now, we'd still have been plodding along together in ten years time. We'd be fine, but not happy. We can follow our own paths now."

"And your path is...?"

"Undecided." She said firmly.

The next few months passed in a blur for Fred and Katie. Katie was writing essays and studying for her exams- something which made her schoolfriends do a double take, as her preferred method at Hogwarts had been cramming the night before- and Fred and George seemed to have a huge burst of inspiration, and were churning out new products left, right and centre. Before they knew it, it was May and Fred had become an uncle for the first- but my no means last- time.

Katie and Fred went with George to visit Bill and Fleur. The twins both held their niece with ease, but then the moment that Katie had been dreading arrived: it was her turn to hold the baby.

"Here you go, Katie," beamed Bill "Meet Victoire."

Awkwardly, Katie held Victoire and stared into the baby's blue eyes with something close to fear.

"She won't bite Kate." said Fred, looking amused.

"I take it you two won't be next then."smirked George.

"Not when Katie reacts with this amount of terror, no."

"This time last year you were facing Death Eaters without a hint of fear, but put a baby in her arms and she freaks out-"

"Shut up." She held the baby back out to Bill. "Here's your daughter- I don't want to break her..."

The twins burst out laughing. They were still teasing her as they left the hospital to head to Hogwarts.

A ceremony had been planned to mark the one year anniversary since Voldemort's defeat. A memorial had been put up with the names of those who had fallen in battle, as well as those who had died before it.

Katie was standing staring at the tiny patch of the stone with the name _Rachel Carlisle, _when she sensed someone walk up behind her.

"Hey," It was Leanne. Katie said nothing, just pointed at Rachel's name.

"I know." Leanne said softly. "Hazel nearly bust a gut when she saw it."

"Why?" Even to her own ears she sounded resigned. ""We made our choice and we've got to accept that people are going to think of her as a war hero."

She was surprised to find that she didn't feel the familiar swoop of betrayal and anger in her stomach. Maybe she was starting to accept it.

"There's another thing." said Leanne, in a lower voice. "Have you seen Hazel recently?"

"No," with effort, Katie turned from Rachel's name to face her best friend. "Why? What's up?"

"Nothing." Leanne said quickly, glancing away. As she did so, Katie could swear she heard her mutter "That I can prove."

Katie frowned. "Where is- oh."

Hazel was chatting with Lee a few hundred metres away, wearing a long loose dress.

"Look at her."

Katie shrugged. "So she's wearing a loose dress instead of something skin tight. Maybe she realised how inappropriate most of her wardrobe is for a memorial ceremony. Maybe she's growing up a bit."

"Oh, she's growing all right." said Leanne tightly.

"And...okay, she's put a bit of weight on." Katie conceded. She looked at Leanne who widened her eyes. The light dawned on Katie and she sharply turned her head to examine Hazel more sincerely.

"Leanne, that doesn't make her pregnant."

"I heard her be sick the other morning."

"Hangover."

"I caught her looking at baby clothes."

"Her cousin just had a baby."

"She's given up smoking!"

There was a pause. Katie narrowed her eyes and squinted. Was there a bump hidden underneath that dress?

"She can't be." _She definitely could._ "She can't be. Is she?"

"I don't know." Leanne looked as though she was about to cry. "She won't talk to me about it, and we had a huge row when I brought it up. She hasn't spoken to me for a week."

"Okay," said Katie decisively "Hazel and I are going for a catch up by the lake."

She made her way over to Hazel and Lee. "Hey guys."

"Hey Kates." Lee hugged her "How's uni? Lots of booze, I hope?"

"You're an alcy." She told him bluntly, and he laughed. "Not yet Katie, not yet." He winked, and disappeared into the crowds.

"God, I haven't seen you in so long." Hazel said linking arms with Katie as they began to walk. Katie steered them gently towards the lake.

"I know! Too long. How have you been?" asked Katie "You look great, though, love the dress."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Thanks. At least you're not telling me I look fat, like Leanne did."

"She did?"

"Yep. Well." Hazel paused "Not in so many words. But she does think I've put weight on."

They stopped by a bench and sat down. "She told me you'd quit smoking." Katie said causally "I mean, most people put on weight when they stop, don't they?"

"Exactly," nodded Hazel, "but trying telling _her_ that."

"I will." said Katie "In fact, I'll do it now, she's on her way."

Hazel glared at Katie and tried to stand up, but Katie pulled her down. "You bloody well planned this ambush." She hissed.

"Yep." Katie said unrepentantly. "I want my friends to get on with each other. And she just wants to know that you're okay."

"Oh, peachy." Hazel said sarcastically.

Leanne stood slightly sheepishly in front of Hazel. "We just want the truth, Hazel."

"And whatever you say, we'll believe you." added Katie.

"Hazel." Leanne took a deep breath "Are you pregnant?"

Hazel gaped at them. "Am I _what_ now?" she sounded both shocked and amused, but neither of them seemed convinced. So they waited.

The silence deepened. Hazel looked from Leanne to Katie and back again, before dropping her gaze to hands and admitting "Yes."

* * *

Fred was in the hall with George and Lee and a drink each, discussing _Potterwatch._ Obviously there had been no more broadcasts since the Battle of Hogwarts, but they were enjoying the reminiscing.

"Excuse me." The three of them looked up to see a Hogwarts student with a shiny _Head Girl_ badge on her lapel, fiddling with her robes. "I'm sorry- I could hear you talking- are you really River from _Potterwatch?_"

"That's me." grinned Lee. "Were you a frequent listener?"

"Yeah," she smiled "I actually just wanted to say thanks- it saved my sanity last year. I was in hiding with my Mum, and we didn't know where Dad was, or if he was- well, you know, until he got a message to us via the show. Plus," her smile got broader "You also kept me from wasting away with boredom..."

Lee stood up. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Typical Lee." George said, shaking his head as Lee lead the girl away "He just can't help himself can he?"

* * *

"Congratulations, guys." Hazel said bitterly. "You two are the first to know. I haven't even told the father."

"I think you need to, Hazel." said Leanne gently.

"I would but..." she trailed off "This is the worst bit...I'm not even sure who it is."

Katie and Leanne exchanged awkward looks, both trying to make sure they didn't look as if they were judging.

"It's either Jake," Hazel said "Or..."

"Or...?" prompted Katie.

Hazel whispered the name. Katie gawped. "_What?"_

Hazel sighed. "Or Lee."


End file.
